More Reasons to Visit Peru – Honest Agents and Amazon Tourism

There are already great reasons to take trips to Peru, from the majestic Machu Picchu to the nightlife of Cusco. But if you plan on visiting the Nazca Lines, you’ll definitely be impressed with this story!

La Republica recently reported that a Chinese tourist accidentally dropped $14,500 while taking a tour of the ancient, mile-wide etchings in the earth known as the Nazca Lines. While that could have been a vacation ruiner, the story had a happy ending when tour agent Enrique Vílchez found the money and returned it to the visitor!

He asked for nothing in return, saying he wanted to encourage others to take trips to Peru and to prove that Peruvians have good social values. However, the gracious Chinese tourist gifted Mr. Vílchez with $1,000 anyway as a way of saying thank you. It’s not every place that you can drop a large sum of cash like that and expect it to be returned (though we wouldn’t encourage you to replicate the experiment, just in case!). Honesty and hospitality are two of the traits you will find amongst the Peruvian people, and we’re very happy that tourist didn’t lose all that cash!

In other Peruvian news, progress has been made in the northeastern part of the country with new construction and upgraded infrastructure, which is expected to increase opportunities for tourists to explore this section of the Amazon. With an emphasis on ecological tourism, the regions of Loreto and Ucayali have made these improvements and new companies have begun to establish tour operations that are now open to visitors. According to Peru This Week, tourist and commercial activity is expected to increase in this area about 10 percent next year due to these efforts.

If you’ve considered visiting the Amazon before, now would be a great time to book a tour of Peru that can take you on the river tours you’ve always wondered about and showcase the wildlife the rainforest has to offer.

Photo credit goes to Flickr User Greenwich Photography.