By now you know about Peru and Chile not happening and so Galapagos happened and Brazil was supposed to be the next stop after Bolivia. Well, we have another update – Peru Consulate in La Paz, Bolivia accepted the Visa Application and we are going to Peru! FINALLY!
Yes, you read that right. After trying so hard in Colombia and Ecuador, we had given up. But one evening I decided to write to the Consulate in La Paz and they responded positively! The process took over a week, but that allowed us to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Bolivia (posts to come).
Next week we are likely to be in Peru :) As such, Brazil is now off the table. Also, as we spent a lot of money at Galapagos, we cannot afford Europe anymore. Secondly, the Schengen Countries are creating a fuss about the visa too. So we will be heading to U.S. of America after Peru to visit a little life that has arrived in this world and finally end our year long journey with a road trip along the west coast. Can’t wait!
Colombia was our first country in South America and we absolutely loved it! The culture, people and food is so different to any place we had been. We fell in love and decided to spend the entire remaining 6 months in this continent – including Central America.
Unfortunately Peru Visa didn’t work out and Chile Visa is a longer process (with required documents), so our South America travels are down to 4.5 months, closer to what we had initially planned.
Considering Central America
Shruti and I heard amazing things about Central America from fellow travels. It got us excited and we decided if Peru does not happen, we will head to Central America. Most countries in the region would accept me with open arms as Shruti has an American Visa.
When the time came to agree on next steps, Shruti realised that apart from stories we heard, we didn’t know much about Central America. We had never done any research as it was not part of the initial plan. It made Shruti nervous about traveling a region neither of us knew about in detail. So we decided not to head in that direction.
So What Now?
Shruti and I have agreed to explore and experience Ecuador and Bolivia to the fullest. Though Ecuador uses US Dollars and it can be slightly expensive at times, there are plenty of places to explore. Now that Peru and Chile are out, we have decided to head to Galapogos Islands!
Additionally, we now plan on visiting the Amazon in Brazil. Both of us will have to go through the process of applying for visa, but there is a much higher chance of getting it. Ultimately after spending 20 days in Brazil, we head to Europe.
Europe was always part of the plan but Colombia blinded us for a short while. It is now back on but due to the cost, we have agreed to spend only three to three and half months in Europe – including one month in Turkey.
For all the well-wishers out there, we are and will continue to keep an eye on the situation in Turkey. As of recent updates, the tourist parts of Turkey aren’t affected.
A small request – please say a small prayer for us. Shruti now has to apply for two visas (Brazil and Schengen) while I need visa for Brazil. Thank you :)
As most of you know, I hold an Indian Passport and I am realising how much of an issue it can be while traveling. Peru has been a must visit destination for us since we started planning the trip. But turns out, we will have to skip the Land of Macchi Pichu for another trip. We tried many options for Peru Visa but everything failed.
Visa Application in Delhi
If you are following our blog, you know about our Delhi application incident. In summary, we applied ‘too early’ for Peru Visa! If we had known we would have altered our itinerary for a visa.
Emailing Consulates
While we were in Gujarat for about a month, spending time with my parents, Manish wrote to almost all the Consulates and Vise Consulates in countries we were visitng, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile regarding Peru Visa application. Unfortunately the response rate was under 10% and always negative.
Attempts in Colombia
We had planned on applying for Peru Visa in Bogota. We had our papers ready with the plan of visiting Peru Consulate as first thing on Friday morning. As it happened, our flight from Fairbanks, Alaska was delayed and we arrived in Bogota almost 24 hours late. We missed our opportunity there.
We were still not dishearted as we thought we could attempt again in Medellin. We got to Medellin on a weekend and on Monday morning heading to Peru Consulate. Guess what happens there – the Consulate closed down on Friday and all applications would have to go to Bogota office!
We were definitely bummed about that but after discussing our options and doing more research, we realised we could fly to Leticia, small town in Colombia Amazon that shares the border with Peru and Brazil. This would be a great opportunity to see the Amazon River and cross over to Peru.
So when we got to Guatape, we decided to contact the Consulate in Leticia to check if they would accept my Peru Visa application. We had to be sure that they will at least consider our application before we decided to fly to Leticia. Cost is always a consideration as we are budget traveling. We emailed and Facebook messaged them but received no response. Ultimately we decided to call and we were told that the Consular is on a month long holiday. After trying to clarify if we can still apply or not, we did not get definite answer. Dead end again!
From Guatape we tried calling the Consulate in Bogota to check our options but our calls were not answered. Another closed door. So we decided to head to Ecuador and try.
Attempt in Ecuador
We had our papers ready for visa application in Quito. On our first working day in Quito, we headed to the Peru Consulate. The entry is like an interrogation room – one way glass, one way mirror. After the security let us in, we headed to the office. There a woman greeted us. We put forward our papers and waited for her response.
Within 2 mins of looking at my passport and the cover letter, she asked, “Do you have Ecuador Residency?”. We said no and she quickly responded that my application will not be accepted. We explained we have the documents and we tried in Delhi but she shut us down. She got a call and left us hanging at the window.
A gentleman appeared after some time and attended us. We showed him my papers and even he rejected us. We started explaining our situation to him, at least he agreed to hear us out, but said he cannot do anything about it.
Completely dishearted we left the Consulate. We were not sure of what to do next. We discussed all our options over and over again but couldn’t conclude on anything. We stayed in the hostel most of the day, talking, planning and deciding next steps.
What Next?
Look out for our next post about change of itinerary – one thing is almost certain, No Peru happening this trip. Maybe I’ll have to wait for my Australian Passport before visiting this part of the world again.
Our trip in Colombia finally came to an end in Salento. The rest of the way involved heading South, sleeping in small towns and doing the Colombia to Ecuador land crossing. In all, this leg was an adventure upon itself.
First Stop – Popayan
We left Salento at 11am to arrive in Armenia, the nearest city and take a bus to Popayan. We reached Popayan at 7pm without any issues and the bus cost was 44,500 pesos (about USD 14.60) per person. Our hotel, Hotel Alcala was a stone’s throwaway from Popayan’s colonial white city. The cab ride from the terminal was about 10 mins.
To be honest, we knew little about the city and only used it as a stopover. However, the centre of the city, the white colonial buildings were beautiful. There are plenty of churches around as well. Though we never spent much time there, the city had amazing food and was unique due to its colour and architecture. There are some good day trips in the area as well.
First Bus Blues
We called up various bus companies to find out what time was the first bus to Ipiales. One company told us the earliest at 5:30am. When we got to the terminal at 5:00am, the bus company failed to recognize any such bus.
Another group of travelers talked to another company and they were quoted 30,000 pesos (USD 10) per person for a bus that may arrive between 5:30am and 6am. We opted for the safer option of using a bigger company with a confirmed bus at 6:30am for 35,000 pesos (USD 12) per person. As it turned out, we were shoved in the same bus but I managed to recovered our 10,000 pesos after protesting. The ride was crazy as we went through several high mountains, foggy roads and tunnels. It was also some of the most beautiful bus rides in Colombia.
Pit Stop – Ipiales
We arrived at Ipiales at 3pm. There is not much there except the most beautiful church, Las Lojas Sanctuary Church. Virgin de Las Lojas is popular in Colombia, Ecuador and many other parts of the world for helping people in need. We thought of doing a quick trip to the church before crossing the border.
There are collectivos from the bus terminal that drive people for 2500 pesos (less than USD 1) to the sanctuary. Upon getting there we left our backpacks at a shop for 2000 pesos each as we had to walk down to the valley.
The church is incredibly beautiful. Not only is it built on a ravine between two mountains, the glasses, the bricks and the architecture of the church is remarkable. We saw lots of churches and cathedrals in Colombia and this was by far the prettiest. A must do in Colombia!
We took another collectivo back to the terminal for same price. Now, we were ready to cross the border.
At the border
We changed our leftover Colombian money into USD, yes USD is used in Ecuador, at the bus terminal itself. We then hopped into a collectivo from the terminal to the border along with our locals.
Unfortunately, the driver never asked and we never told him that we needed an exit stamp from Colombia. He drove across the border and rest of the locals hopped into another collectivo. Clearly they didn’t need any stamps! We had to walk back over the bridge to the Colombian side and get an exit stamp. A great waste of time.
Tip: The border is open and it is very easy to make this mistake. Remember to get your exit stamp before going to Ecuador immigration. Get off the taxi before the bridge.
Entering Ecuador
Due to the confusion about the immigration, the long queue and Shruti’s Indian Passport took us around an hour to get the entry stamp for Ecuador. While we knew that Indians get Visa On Arrival for Ecuador, the officee in charge took longer than usual around 15 minutes. As a comparison, it took me less than 5 minutes.
We took a collectivo to Tulcan Terminal from Ecuador border for 75 cents each. The ride took about 15 minutes. While the border is open, many tourists visit Ecuador from Colombia making it busy. Please allow enough time to cross.
Tulcan to Otavalo
We took a bus as soon as we arrived in Tulcan at 7pm. The bus ticket was USD 3.50 per person. Our hostel had a check in till 10pm and we emailed them to not lock us out. The bus started at 7pm and it usually takes 3 hours to Otavalo. We thought we will get there just in time.
Unfortunately, the Ecuador police work opposite to Colombia. The bus was stopped twice, once closer to the terminal and second somewhere half way. The first police check involved going through our bags thoughroughly, every zip, every pocket. They made Australian customs look like amateurs. Strangely though, only we were checked. In Colombia, before the bus left the terminal, police officers would check IDs of most locals.
This of course delayed us and we didn’t get to Otavalo until 11pm. Luckily, the hostel received our email and a guy checked us in. Phew!
Long Day
In total, it took us 18.5 hours from Popayan, Colombia to Otavalo, Ecuador. Around an hour of that time in Colombia and at the border was avoidable. We are sure there are better ways of doing the land crossing and below is our suggestion so you do not exert yourself as we did.
Recommended Way for Colombia to Ecuador Land Crossing
We realized later that staying 2 nights in Popayan was a mistake. The highlights of Popayan can be done in couple of hours during the day.
Pasto should have been our second stopover. Ipiales is only 2 hours away from Pasto making the journey to Otavalo 5.5 hours and Quito 7.5 hours. Much better way for bus rides!
Summary
We practically crossed the border in two days.
Day 1 – Arrive at Popayan with plan to spend night there.
Day 2 – Leave at 5am in morning from Popayan and get to Otavalo by 11pm. Long day!
We recommend spanning the journey to three days if you have the time.
Day 1 – Arrive at Popayan with plan to spend night there.
Day 2 – Explore Popayan in the morning and catch bus to Pasto around 1pm. Spend the night in Pasto.
Day 3 – Leave from Pasto in the morning towards Ipiales. Spend 2 hours at Ipiales visiting the Sanctuary. Then cross border to Ecuador. You are likely to arrive in the evening at Otavalo or Quito, without exerti g yourself.
Based on our change of plan #2, we decided to visit South America before Europe. So that means, applying visa for South American countries. Having said that, we lost lot of our time trying to renew Shruti’s passport.
We read about the visa application processes for various countries and their leniency when a non-resident applies for visa from another country. That means, as an Indian, Shruti has to apply for Peru visa from Colombia though She’s not a resident there. There are lots of people who have tried and shared their experiences. After doing initial research, we gauged that Peru is one of the toughest countries to grant visas overseas.
So we decided to get Peru visa in India before flying out. And here we share our experience, applying Peru visa for Indians. Hopefully it is helpful.
Location
Peru embassy in New Delhi is located at D2/5, Vasant Vihar. There is no public transport close to the embassy. The closest metro stations are Hauz Khas and Chattarpur. It costs around Rs100 to get there. Once at the end of Vasant marg or on Paschimi Marg, there are signs for embassy of Peru. Its not a big building and is a bungalow next to a park.
Documents needed
The visa form and the documents needed are standard for any visa
Photo graphs
2x Filled application form
Valid Indian passports for one year
Photocopy of front and back passport pages
Proof of financial capability
Itinerary for Peru
Hotel and flight reservations
However, please note that we were able to provide bus tickets from Cruz del Sur and into another South American country as proof of ‘flight’ reservations. Our plan was to travel overland and Peru embassy accepted these.
In addition, Shruti also has a USA B1 visa which helped with the application. We had called up several times to check for details and the embassy was readily available to answer questions.
Processing time
We were told that the application would be processed in 5 working days.
Result
We received no calls in 6 days. Upon calling them, they told us that the application was neither rejected nor approved. Their ‘new’ system could not accept our arrival date being more than 90 days though we had everything else in order.
Mistake
We had given all the right paper work and everything was in order. However, our arrival date in Peru which was based on the bus ticket was longer than 90 days. It was a grave mistake on our part.
What now?
As stated in the change of plans, We will fly to Colombia and then cross into Ecuador. At both places, we will apply for Peru visa in various consulates. If received then great otherwise Machu Pichu will have to wait til when Shruti gets an Australian passport.
