Insight Guide Peru (Insight Guides) (Paperback)

by Pam Barrett (Editor) "Despite its rugged and often inhospitable landscape, Peru ranks amongst the world's great centers of ancient civilization..." (more)
Key Phrases: Machu Picchu, Plaza de Armas, San Isidro (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This guide includes a section detailing Peru's history, ten features covering the country's life and culture, ranging from the Quechua-speaking people of the Andes to the fusion of Catholic, Inca and early agricultural rites; a region by region visitor's guide to the sights, and a comprehensive travel tips section packed with essential contact addresses and numbers. Plus hundreds of photographs and 12 maps.

About the Author
Pam Barret is the editor of "'Insight Guide Peru"''"'Insight Guide Israel"'' "'Insight Guide Ecuador"'' "'Insight Guide Portugal"'

Since 2000. Hammond, American Map, Langenscheidt Dictionaries, Insight Travel Guides, Delorme – the famous names in the Langenscheidt family. These represent the most authoritative, up-to-date, and extensive travel and reference products available. In January 2003, the renowned Berlitz Publishing became part of the Langenscheidt Group. The Langenscheidt Publishing Group, the premier group of map and travel companies, offers over 4,000 North American and international street maps, road maps, atlases, language-learning, bilingual dictionaries, and travel-related products covering countries, cities, and languages in every continent.

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: Insight Guides; 4 edition (April 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9812348085
• ISBN-13: 978-9812348081
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,868 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #36 in	Books > Travel > Latin America > South America > Peru
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good before and after trip, but not for taking with you, November 24, 2002

By	Andrius Uzkalnis (Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Insight Guides Peru (Insight Guides) (Paperback)

Insight Guides do not spare cash and effort on good photographs (some may say that there are too many photographs, which makes the guide too thick, too heavy and unusable for a traveller).

It is, however, more of a coffee-table book: try Frommer's, Rough Guide or Lonely Planet for practicalities. Insight Guide is not for carrying around (although maps are good).

You will find a lot of good reading about history, culture and mentality (which Rough Guide or Lonely Planet, with their dull and uninspired writing, cannot hope to match). However, there is sometimes an impression of missing focus: Peru is a beautiful country that has some obvious highlights and it is wrong to pretend (as the guide seems to) that the whole country is equally interesting.

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a good "read and leave at home" book. many color pictures., October 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Insight Guide Peru (Peru, 3rd ed) (Paperback)

Biggest, heaviest & most expensive of the 4 books I bought, it has a LOT of pictures, but wastes quite of few of them on things that I have no interest in.. I don't care about groups of children, people in the marketplace, people in a bar, people in a restaurant, 2 men sitting in a library, etc, etc... but there are a good number of other good pictures, but not nearly enough of the BIG INCA sites... not much in the way of maps. If you're spending the money to go to Peru, buy all 4 of the books I got, but read this one at home and leave it there; take Lonely Planet for maps of cities and archeological sites. And don't use ANY book for the final word on hotels, restaurants, busses, trains, guide services, etc.. also reviewed: Lonely planet Peru, Rough Guide Peru, and Peru Handbook by Alan Murphy.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get's you ready to go!, February 1, 2001

By	Troy A Smith (Elk Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Insight Guide Peru (Peru, 3rd ed) (Paperback)

What a wonderful country! This book like all the other Insight Guide books that I've read (Costa Rica, Morocco) gives an excellent history and overview of the country. Many people complain these books are to vague and don't cover the specific details of trip planning. I will agree with that, but I won't complain. These books are great for getting an idea of what to see and where to go, not where to sleep and eat and how much. The pictures in these books cover such a wide range of sites and topics. I recommend, buying an insight guide book for the countries flavor, and a seperate guide book or two for the trip planning details, (I prefer Lonely Planet). I have, and will continue to buy an Insight Guide book for everywhere I travel. The best thing about these books is after your trip when you look thru them again and see pictures of the places you've been, it truely takes you back. Buy this book, go to Peru and enjoy!!!