Traveling through Peru is full of surprises. Some magical, others not so much. One night, as I made my way from Cusco to Ica, I had an experience I’ll never forget. It was the kind of night that shakes you to your core, a vivid reminder of how unpredictable life can be.

Here’s what happened.

After a few days exploring Cusco, it was time to continue my journey. I headed to the bus station to find the soonest available bus to Ica.

The scene was exactly as I’ve come accustom to. Vendors calling out to passing travelers, each one eager to sell a ticket to somewhere. It was lively but familiar, the kind of chaos you get used to when traveling through Peru.

As usual, I didn’t just buy the first ticket offered. I wandered around, scouting different counters, checking prices, and comparing options. After a bit of back-and-forth, I finally settled on a night bus to Ica that seemed like the best deal.

When the evening rolled around, I arrived back at the station right on time. The bus pulled in, a double-decker, and I was pleased to find that I had a single semi-sleeper seat on the lower level. It was spacious, comfortable, and just what I needed after a few busy days. I was optimistic about getting a decent night’s sleep, or at least as decent as you can expect on an overnight bus ride.

The hum of the engine and the gentle rocking of the bus soon lulled me to sleep. But it wasn’t the deepest sleep. Every so often I was jolted awake, dazed, as we swung around tight corners. The driver was definitely taking the curves faster than I was used to. Still, I tried not to let it bother me too much and settled back in, hoping to catch as much rest as I could.

A few hours later, though, everything changed.

I woke to a violent swerve and a loud bang. Disoriented and half-asleep, my mind raced to make sense of it. In that foggy, dreamlike state, it felt as if we were hurtling off the side of a mountain into freefall. It’s common to wake from a dream with the sensation of falling, but this was the opposite. I had woken into reality, and it felt like I was falling. It was surreal, terrifying. I was convinced, for a few heart-stopping moments, that this was it.. This was the end.

As I came to, I realized we weren’t falling. We were tilted, but still upright. For a moment, I imagined the bus teetering on the edge, like a scene from a movie. Running on pure instinct, I scrambled to the door. Around me, people were screaming, panic rising like a wave. I was ready to kick the door down, desperate to escape whatever nightmare we were in. But then, a fellow passenger, who must have had a better idea of what’s happening, stopped me and calm me down.

The windows were heavily tinted and fogged up, offering no view of what was happening outside. It only added to the confusion. Slowly, as I wiped a patch clear, the terror began to lift. Through the smeared window, I could see we were not dangling over a cliff after all. We were scrunched up against the mountainside, the bus wedged in a precarious position but not in immediate danger.

Eventually, the doors opened and we all spilled out into the night air. People were shaken, some shouting, others arguing with the driver. The adrenaline was still running high, but at least now we could all see: we were alive, and we were safe.

It took me a while to piece together what had happened. Everyone around me was speaking Spanish, and with only a little knowledge of the language, I couldn’t fully understand what was going on. Slowly, based on the few words I could catch and the position we had come to a halt in, the story started to come together. The driver had been speeding around the mountain roads, and when he took a corner too fast, he lost control. Luckily, for all of us, he veered into the mountainside instead of off the cliff.

The bus was clearly hurt but not completely wrecked. The front wheel was damaged and needed to be replaced. The driver, along with his assistant, immediately set to work trying to fix it. They jacked the bus up and removed the wheel, but it quickly became obvious it was more than just a flat tire. The suspension or something else was broken too. It wasn’t just a matter of popping on a new wheel and getting back on the road.

The passengers weren’t taking it lightly. Voices rose, demanding a new bus. No one wanted to risk getting back on this one, not after what had just happened. Honestly, I felt the same. I’m usually calm in situations like this. I’ve fixed a few cars in my time, but nothing about the driver’s behaviour inspired any confidence. From the way he had been driving to the way he handled the crash, it all felt reckless.

Hours dragged by. Eventually, they managed to repair the suspension and bolt the wheel back on. One by one, despite our reluctance, we all climbed back aboard. There weren’t any better options out there on the side of a mountain in the middle of the night.

We rolled slowly back onto the road. As we descended, we passed another bus accident, a much worse one. That bus looked undrivable, its wheels bent at odd angles. It wasn’t going anywhere. Emergency services were on the scene too.

At first, our driver kept it cautious, taking the curves slowly. But it didn’t last. Before long, he started picking up speed again. The tension inside the bus was immediate. Every time he went too fast, passengers would shout “¡Despacio!” (“Slowly!”) from their seats, trying to rein him in.

Trusting that my fellow passengers would keep him in check, I leaned back and tried to close my eyes again. Sleep was a long shot, but it was better than staying wide awake imagining worst-case scenarios.

Final Thoughts

Never in my life had I felt terror quite like that night.

That surreal moment: waking up, certain it was the final few seconds of my life. That moment, that sensation stays with me till this day.

Needless to say, for the rest of my travels through Peru, I decided to be a little less adventurous when it came to bus companies. I chose to spend a bit more and booked my journeys with Cruz del Sur (www.cruzdelsur.com.pe), one of the country’s most reputable and trusted lines. The piece of mind was worth every penny.