Alternative Food And Socio-cultural Experience In Lima

This was our first trip to Peru and our family included a 3yr old, 9yr old and 12yr old. We wanted to find a local guide to help us learn alongside Indigenous communities and make a positive impact. Alfredo was a wonderful guide - extremely knowledgeable, professional and passionate about empowering sustainability in local communities. He was patient when our toddler interrupted and answered our older children’s questions with enthusiasm. We loved the multiple tours: meeting Shipibo Konibo artisans and creating artwork together, meeting fishermen in Chorrillos, making ceviche, painting Tablas de Sarhua with the Ramos Family, visiting the Lugar de Memoria, trying graffiti art with a local artist in Callao, tutoring school age children at a ludoteca (play center) and volunteering in a community herb garden and children’s library. Our cultural exchange was based on honest communication and human connection woven together with a sense of community. We learned so much from the lived experiences and knowledge of the community members, artisans, and Alfredo. We plan to return to Peru and know Alfredo will help us craft a perfect itinerary for Macchu Picchu. We cannot recommend Alternative Peru enough. Alfredo will make your trip more than just a vacation. He provides a way for families to make memories together through service - young children and adults learning about themselves by connecting to community and Nature through fun activities.

This is an absolute must-do if you want to experience the real Lima. As an avid traveler, it takes a lot for a tour to impress me, but Alternative Peru exceeded every expectation. The morning food market tour was incredible—they perfectly accommodated my pescatarian diet, and the ceviche was out of this world! The second half of the day in the local community was deeply moving. You visit the world's second-largest cemetery and get to see the amazing work being done by the Jugando Aprendo youth project. It's rare to find a tour that offers such fantastic food while also giving back to the local community in such a direct, respectful way. Highly recommended!

A fascinating tour of the less touristy parts of Lima. Authentic market food, exploring real neighborhoods, not just the touristy parts of Lima. It really provides a great view of the diversity of Lima’s population.

I want to see the inner belly of Lima, not the normal beaten path of tourists. Noted that it is not inexpensive nor entertaining, but very well planned and we travel in comfortable transportation with enlightening guide, Alfredo, and going home with a better understanding of people of Lima. First we stopped at mercado surquillos and choose the juice and the lunch of our choices. We chose ceviche and causa. Then continued to the biggest cemetery, traveling past traffic and located in dusty area. Learned a bit about growing Lima and their spiritual beliefs. Then ended up in human settlement (publo jovenes), seeing the wall of shame dividing the human settlement and the rich departmento and then meet their inhabitants, listening to the lady who made handcraft (inexpensive, no concern about price gouging nor guide benefitting from the sales), and lastly the after school program for children. I want to see Lima from different angle, and the tour delivered.

We only had one day in Lima, at the very beginning of our trip, so I booked the food and sociocultural tour as a way to both introduce my somewhat-picky teenager to the food of Peru and also to learn about how many people live in Lima. Our guide, Alfredo, was outstanding. He picked us up from our hotel and we went to a local market, where we wandered around picking out different fruits. We sat down for lunch at one of the stalls and had the most amazing ceviche while Alfredo cut up our fruit purchases to try. We also tried a couple of different kinds of juice liqueurs. Then it was back to the van for a trip to the human settlements, where we visited one of the largest cemeteries in the world, as well as a couple of homes where we got to talk to some of the local people and learn about their culture. I think one of my favorite parts of the whole tour was sitting down with a local woman who served us tea and popcorn while we got to learn about her and her life. Our tour finished up with a visit to one of the social projects that our tour fee helps to support, an after school program for kids, where we got to play a whole-body-involved game of rock paper scissors with the kids. We highly recommend this tour and our guide, Alfredo!

My tour with Alfredo was the highlight of my time in Peru. I told Alfredo that food was my focus and my request were meant and some. It was a busy day with lots of eating but Alfredo is such a good host and kept me engaged the entire day. I learned so much, not only about food; but history as well. Alfredo is knowledgeable in many aspects of Peruvian/World culture. Do yourself a favor and book a tour with Alfredo and Alternative Peru.

Alfredo, our tour guide, was the best. He's knowledgeable, kind, funny, and passionate. We had a great time touring Lima, visiting local art pieces/places, and eating with a local family. Highly recommend this tour or any tour with Alternative Peru. Thank you again Alfredo!

We spent a great day with our guide. The first part at the market were we could taste everything we wanted. The lunch consisted of two amazonian dishes, a fish and a dish of rice and chicken both very tasteful. The second part of the day we were taken to a huge cemetery and visited a settlement. We had the chance to meet inspiring people how are taking actions to change their lives, a very humbling experience that made us realize how much we are privileged. Would recommend without hesitation if you want to see what a typical tourist does not see.

We had a great time at the market and our guide was totally willing to adjust to our interests and questions. The food was tasty and enjoyable. Although a pack of paper towels or hand wipes would have been useful. The other sites and stops were fantastic. The bathroom stops were well-timed. It felt like a lot of van time, but Lima is huge and traffic is terrible. The driver was safe and courteous as he transported us around. Our guide really made the day special with his great personality and kindness. It was a terrific way to learn more and see more than we ever could have expected.

This is a great way to see some parts of Peru that tourists can’t usually access. Alberto and Placido were excellent guides and gave us loads of information, not only about this visit, but also other things to do in Lima. The visit to the colourful market gave us a chance to try some delicious fruits, juices and amazing dishes including ceviche and jungle food. Visiting the settlements in the mountains, and meeting the people who live there, was a unique opportunity and gave a fascinating insight into Peru’s history. It was a privilege to be invited into the home of one of these lovely people, and humbling to hear about the everyday challenges they face at first hand. I would recommend this trip to anyone looking for more than just the tourist attractions.

We spent the morning exploring a local market. Not a big one, but offering everything we wanted to taste - cheeses, fruits (don’t miss the lucuma milk shake), cakes. We had a very good ceviche for lunch, but the star was a booth with Amazonian cuisine, where the owner got us several unusual drinks and cooked a typical meal, explaining all the ingredients and techniques. The afternoon was dedicated to the visit of poor communities and the huge cemetery. It is amazing what a difference there is just a few kilometers from the fancy Miraflores. When booking the tour, we were afraid that we would end up on a kind of a “human safari “. Nathalie from the agency was very kind in explaining that is absolutely not the case. She was right. It was a good experience to see where and how people live, yet they are full of optimism, energy, and pride about what they do. A humbling experience which put many things and problems in our lives into a perspective. The post-tour service was equally excellent; we got a detailed explanation of the itinerary, words, dishes, etc. by mail. Thanks Alberto and the whole team!

This was a great way to start our trip in Peru. The morning local market tour gave us a glimpse of the treats Peru has to offer. We were glad we did the market tour in the beginning of our 8 days in Peru so we knew what items we wanted to eat more of the rest of our trip. The Afternoon was a visit to an off the beaten path village that is in need of a lot of help. A family of the village graciously welcomed us into their home and we had some time to interact with the family. Also, we went to see some local efforts of a NGO at the community center for children which is under construction. It was eye-opening and inspiring to see people with so little, be so happy and how much they help each other. My husband and I brought a suitcase full of toiletries donated by his colleagues and ourselves. The community was so gracious for the donations. The little things we take for granted - are a big deal to others. It was touching to see that. Last but not least- our tour guide Alberto and driver were awesome. Alberto was very knowledgeable and informative. He really seemed to have great passion for his job and for helping these communities. I highly recommended this tour to get a taste of Peru and see the other side of Lima. This will be a day we will never forget. It was great for the soul.

This tour is a gem. They take you to a local market with no tourists and give you the freshest food imaginable and tell you history along the way. The cemetery was breathtaking and I'm so glad that was part of this trip. Then meeting a local family and learning about their experiences and what brought them to Lima was so interesting and relevant to the culture of Lima. Senorita Nanfa was a gracious host serving popped corn and drinks. If you are looking to get a feel for the real Lima this is a tour to do it with.

The market was really fun and interesting. I tasted fruits that I had not heard of and enjoyed smoothies. The "What to expect" stated that you would learn how to make ceviche and select your own fresh seafood. We did not get the lesson but the ceviche and some fried fish was served to us along with fish head soup. It was very tasty and cool to sample fish that was caught same day. As for the cemetery and the human settlements, I recommend that this tour be re-evaluated during winter months. The roads to high hills were hazardous and muddy on a slope. The cemetery is the 2nd largest in the world, which is cool, but not necessarily anything I was prepared for. It's good to educate tourists on the whole picture of the community, but I do not feel the cultural part of this tour was fully explained. This is an expensive package and I would have liked to have seen more culinary experiences. Alfredo and the driver were great and kind and patient. Do I recommend it - yes, but not in their winter months.

The morning part of this tour was very interesting and fun. Great guide and friendly vendors. We enjoyed trying the different fruit, juices, cheeses and other goodies. The afternoon portion of the tour was surprising, to say the least. We traveled 45 minutes in Lima traffic to visit a very interesting and large cemetery and the homes of two indiviuals that lived in the "Human Settlements". It was muddy and misty every where we went making it difficult to keep sure footing. Our driver had to park at the top of a hill because he said it was difficult for him to control the vehicle. These are just a couple of things but I don't feel that the afternoon portion of the tour was accurately described. We didn't do everything listed and spent way more time in the Settlements than I would have agreed to. Alfredo, our guide, and the driver were very knowledgeable and fun to spend the day with. Unfortunately, we booked this tour on our last day and left very soon after for the airport. No time to clean up before our flights. I feel that if the description had warned of us of how dirty we would get and suggested closed toe, sturdy shoes we would have been more prepared or booked the tour earlier in out visit. Worth the money but prepare for lots of mud.

Flight did not leave until midnight so thought this tour would be a great way to end our Peru adventure. The first half of the tour was fantastic. Toured the market, tried several different juices, fruits and then had lunch consisting of ceviche(2 different kinds),fried fish and fish head soup(delicious). On to the cemetary which is the 2nd largest in the world-very interesting experience. The last part of the tour consisted of visiting with a local woman and her children-the visit was very interesting but getting to her residence was difficult for our group which consisted of 6 people 60 plus years old. 2 of our group stayed behind as it was difficult to climb the "stairs"-the mud in the streets made your footing treacherous. Overall the tour was a great way to see the "other" side of Lima. Alfredo was our tour guide and he did a great job as did the driver(roads on the second half of tour were less than desirable).

Our tour guide, Alfredo and our driver picked us up at our hotel right on time. We had a wonderful experience that began in the market by sampling wonderful flavors of Peru and an awesome lunch! Alfredo keep us informed on what to expect and answered all our questions in perfect English. The afternoon was quite an experience with seeing the cemetery and the human settlement. They have it all designed to provide a cultural relevant experience that you would not experience on your own. Highly recommend!

We spent 15 days in Peru. By chance we heard about this tour, signed up, and wow were we glad we did. The market experience, the food tasting, the exposure to the human settlement habitants, et cetera. Each aspect probably could not be improved. And tour guide Alfredo is extraordinary. Placido the driver is not just a driver -- he is a link to the inhabitants of the human settlements. You will not be disappointed.

Our Tour Leader "Diego" met us right on time at the port. He spoke very good English and briefed us as to what was planned for the day. Seen a lot of countryside and areas around Lima including the second largest cemetery in the world (so very interesting). We visited the homes of two local immigrants including a lovely senorita Balvina which told us her personal story and showed us her handcrafts. We enjoyed an authentic Peruvian dinner in the home of another immigrant Senorita Ninfa. She was so friendly and fixed us a lovely lunch which we all enjoyed. It was an incredible experience visiting this side of Lima. Diego was an exceptional tour guide. Highly recommend this tour seeing sights that tourist don't normally see but reflect the real culture of Lima.