Wicked Travels Fall 2015 | Page 45

Make Friends With An Alpaca

Certain local farms can offer kids an opportunity to meet the alpaca, llama and vicuña indigenous to Peru. Most of the alpaca, however, are not kept on the farms but herded in a semi-wild state, roaming free on the mountainside before being rounded up and shorn. Their wool is considered the softest of the camelid fibers, and they are widely considered one of the cutest of the camelid species.

You will certainly see the wild alpaca while driving through the countryside, too, but to avoid a rash, do not pet these animals. Just enjoy the sight of them as they wander, anywhere from the terraced fields to ancient ruins, where they’re known to pop up.

Take a Hike in a Rain Forrest

The future of our planet lies in the hands of our children, so take the time to introduce them to an endangered environment that needs protecting. In Ecuador and Peru they’ll have the chance to see humid cloud forests while they’re in the Andes. Cloud forests rely on the low-hanging fog in the mountaintops. The cloud forest trees look like they are literally in the clouds, and shade exotic flora and fauna, from colorful bromeliads and orchids to tree frogs and tropical birds.

(Article Shared by: Jena Hunt is a part-time traveler and freelance writer for Anywhere Travel.)