From Puno to Lima, over Arequipa and Cusco - which way to go?
 

So I'll be in puno soon and will head toward Lima, doing Arequipa and Cusco on the way.

According to Google maps it's almost the same distance but 3 hours more if I do Arequipa first.

Does someone know the different roads? Conditions, but also available services and how fun they are to ride with a 250cc Chinese?

Cheers and thanks in advance

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I can't speak for all the roads but I took the 34A from Juliaca to Aerequipa in February of this year. I chose it because it was paved the whole way. There was very little traffic and it was an absolutely stunning ride. It goes right through the middle of the park too. There were some altitude signs in the 4500m range so its really up there. I remember getting gas somewhere in between in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, it was a huge station though. There seemed to be mining activity around. (on a side note Juliaca was probably the biggest shithole of a city I saw on my whole trip, it looks like a bomb went off, dirt streets right downtown, lol)

It was pretty neat seeing all the sheep herders in the middle of nowhere at 12000+ feet. I would wave at all of them as I went by, it looked like it was probably the most exciting part of their day.

Good luck, I'm sure whichever way you go will be a blast.

I've attached a picture of somewhere in the park...

Terry