Peru is up there with one of the best places I have visited! Its people are incredibly friendly, the “touristic” landmarks are fantastic, and the country is very cheap! We arrived in Cusco on a flight from London via Bogota with Avianca. We designated a few days for acclimatisation – as Cusco sits at a whopping 3,399m / 11,152 ft above sea level!
Sections of this article:
- What to do in Cusco
- Restaurant recommendations in Cusco
- Spending a few days in Cusco
- Train to Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes)
- Machu Picchu
- Train from Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) to Cusco
- Rainbow Mountain Day Trip from Cusco
- Humantay Lake Day Trip from Cusco
- Arriving in Lima
- Things to do in Lima
- Where to buy a Peru flag patch
What to do in Cusco:
Cusco itself is a beautiful city nestled in the heart of the Andes. We spent a lovely few days wandering its beautiful streets and relentlessly being offered massages (apparently this is very popular in Cusco…)
. Cusco Plaza Mayor
. Sacsayhuaman
. Mercado Central de San Pedro
. Qorikancha
. Tambomanchay, Puka Pukara, and Quenco archaeological sites
. Convento Santo Domingo
Restaurant recommendations in Cusco:
. Mistura Grill Cusco – a lovely spot that overlooks the Main Square
. Balkon Azul Restaurant
Spending a few days in Cusco:
After a day of resetting and adjusting to the jetlag etc., we ventured off into the town. We decided a good way to ease into our hiking at altitude would be to walk up to Sacsayhuaman – an ancient Inca temple at the top of Cusco. The route we selected from town took us down Calle Pumacurco, a picturesque cobbled street with hanging flower baskets. Beware – the walk up from Cusco main square to Sacsayhuaman is quite steep! This route takes you up past San Cristobal Catholic Church, which has a square with an impressive view of the city. We stopped here for a short rest and popped inside the church and up the bell tower – all very pretty!
We continued hiking up the road to an entrance to Sacsayhuaman. There was nobody at the ticket office by the road, and you need to hike around 20 minutes along the path to reach the official entrance. Beware – you can only pay with cash for your tickets so make sure you are prepared for this. On the hike to the entrance, we were met by several guides offering their services ranging from £12-15 for an hour-and-a-half tour – one of whom we ended up hiring, and he taught us lots about the ruins and history of the site. When you buy tickets for the entrance, you purchase entry to all four archaeological sites in Cusco (Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay, Puka Pukara, and Quenco) which costs 70 soles. After visiting Sacsayhuaman in the morning, we ventured down to the main square and had a lovely lunch at Mistura Grill.
Later, we ordered an Uber from the main square to Tambomachay which cost around £10. We negotiated for our driver to hang around and take us to Puka Pukara before taking us back to our hotel in Cusco – this was relatively easy and he charged us the same price as the Uber there, except in cash. Both Tambomachay and Puka Pukara are much smaller than Sacsayhuaman but still worth a visit if you like archaeology. However, we decided to call it a day at this point and did not end up visiting Quenco due to time constraints.
Train to Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes):
The following morning, we took the train from Estacion San Pedro to Aguas Calientes – the gateway to Machu Picchu. The boarding process was very organised and the staff were extremely friendly. We booked our tickets with PeruRail (https://www.perurail.com/) a couple of months before our trip – and I suggest you do the same as they have a tendency to sell out and the trains operate quite infrequently.
Machu Picchu:
I purchased tickets to Machu Picchu from “Joinnus” – Peru Ministry of Culture (https://www.joinnus.com/events/trip-adventure/cusco-llaqta-inca-de-machupicchu-59693). After doing plenty of research online, we opted for “Circuit 1 or 2 + Inka Bridge”. The Inka Bridge was amazing and I would highly recommend it unless you are travelling with children. I say this because there are little to no safety bars and railings along the route – which makes it particularly dangerous in parts and therefore not appropriate for children. When you arrive in Aguas Calientes, you must purchase bus travel up to Machu Picchu which can be done at the ticket office located here:
The bus tickets are quite overpriced, coming in at USD 24 per person for a return journey! However, unless you want to firm the several-hour monstrous mountain hike, it is sadly the only option. The tickets have no time on them, you simply queue up on the street nearby according to the entry time you purchased on your ticket. As for the return journey, the buses run more than every 5-10 minutes. You may have to queue up for a short while but the process does not take long at all. The journey takes approximately 20-30 minutes each way.
I read a lot online about how you can’t take certain things into Machu Picchu (such as plastic water bottles) and that they are very strict on this, however, this is not true and the security is not very tight. There are no bins inside the grounds, but as long as you do not litter then it seemed you could bring whatever you liked inside (including plastic water bottles). So do not waste your time and money scrambling to buy proper water bottles in the markets of Aguas Calientes, as this is not necessary!
The iconic photo spots are sadly very very packed, and I would definitely recommend arriving as early as you can to avoid any chaos. However, the Inca Bridge trail was particularly empty during the 8 am slot and I loved the tranquillity of the mountain trail.
Our train back from Aguas Calientes departed at 16:53 and we had to check out at 11:00. We spent the afternoon chilling out in “Toto’s House” restaurant, which I would highly recommend. The staff were friendly, the Wi-Fi was fast, and the food and drink quality was great and reasonably priced.
Train from Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) to Cusco:
We bought tickets on the same website as before and the boarding process was again self-explanatory. The return journey was far more bumpier and uncomfortable though which made it much less pleasant than the outward. Several other companies are operating on the route (notably Inca Rail), but there is only one track for the majority of the journey – meaning that the trains pull into “lay-bys” for the train in the opposite direction to pass.
Rainbow Mountain Day Trip from Cusco:
We organised a day trip to Rainbow Mountain using TripAdvisor, where the total price was around £19 per person.
We had a bit of a disaster in the morning, as the tour company asked us to meet them at Plaza Regocijo Square at 04:30 am! However, despite this, they were very late and went to our hotel instead – meaning we did not get collected until nearly 05:30! This was quite distressing, as it was cold and dark, and we had no Wi-Fi to communicate with the tour company. I was running between Regocijo Square and a nearby restaurant we had dined at several days before to steal their Wi-Fi from the outside. The guide did eventually turn up and was very apologetic.
Despite the difficult (and very early) start to our day, we had a wonderful time hiking up to Rainbow Mountain and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone planning to visit Peru. The hike itself is not ridiculously strenuous, however, the altitude makes it significantly harder (at least in my experience). The summit of Rainbow Mountain stands at 5,200m (17,060 ft), a similar elevation to Everest Base Camp (5,364m / 17,598 ft). Be sure to prepare for this through proper acclimatisation and taking Coca remedies (tea, sweets, etc.).
Humantay Lake Day Trip from Cusco:
The following day, I took a day trip from Cusco to Humantay Lake using TripAdvisor (which also cost £19). Again, I had a slight kerfuffle with the collection, as the company wanted me to meet them 3 blocks down at 04:15 am! Being in a foreign environment and with no Wi-Fi (especially considering what had happened the day before), I said no and they came and picked me up from the hotel.
The hike to Humantay Lake is extremely strenuous! I would consider myself quite a fit and healthy individual, however, in the sun I found it a properly intense hike. There is an option to take a horse part of the way if you’re not cut out for the full hike. I found it super rewarding to reach the top by myself though and managed to get some amazing pictures of the crystal clear water.
Arriving in Lima:
The following day we flew from Cusco to Lima, opting against the 22-hour bus journey due to time restrictions and sheer convenience!
Things to do in Lima:
. Museo Larco
. Huaca Pucllana
. Wander through the streets of Miraflores
. Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor)
If you’re looking for a great place to have dinner, I highly recommend Punto Azul! The food and service was absolutely fantastic. Just be sure to reserve a table beforehand, as we waited around 35 minutes until we could be seated!
We heard mixed safety reviews about Lima but felt pretty safe wandering about freely during the day. At night, it became slightly unsettling in certain areas and we were advised against walking around at these times.
Uber worked very well in Lima and was reasonably priced, so we tended to use that to get around as opposed to the chaotic public transport network (of which we saw hundreds, if not thousands, of people, opting for during the rush hours). The traffic in Lima is pretty chaotic too, so be prepared for plenty of Ubers with cracked windshields and no seatbelts!
From Lima, the adventure continued to Buenos Aires, Argentina (due to this somehow being one of the cheapest flight options)! I am usually slightly anti-flying, as I prefer to backpack around and explore places on the ground. However, due to the time constraints of this particular trip and the cost of the flight – it seemed like a no-brainer this time!
Where to buy a Peru flag patch:
I love collecting things, and decided a long time ago that I would attempt to collect a sew-on patch from each new country to put on the bags that I travel with!
I bought my Peru flag patch in a souvenir shop in Cusco! They are incredibly easy to find here along with endless other weird and wonderful souvenirs.
