Peru October 2013

Staff Members: Robin Paschall & Barbara Colliander
Travel Dates: October 2013
Destinations Visited:  Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Inca Trail Express, Machu Picchu, Arequipa, Colca Canyon
Map of Trip: http://adventureswithinreach.com/peru/faq/map.html?tripid=ITR01-13-004

DAY 1 — Lima

• Arrival —  We landed at the Lima Airport and were met by our wonderful transfer agent to help us transition to this new country.  It was about a 30 minute drive to the Miraflores area of downtown Lima.
• Afternoon group city tour of Lima — After lunch at a nearby sandwich shop, we had a half-day tour with an excellent guide.
• Dinner at Dama Juana —  pisco sour, buffet dinner, and folkloric show
• Overnight at Casa Inca Boutique Hotel —  A lovely hotel with some nice upper decks that looked out over the ocean.
• More Pictures of Lima >>

DAY 2 — Lima to Cusco

• 

  Beautiful Plaza de Armas in Cusco

  Morning flight to Cusco

• Lunch at Inka Grill — Right on the Plaza de Armas @163 for 3 soups and Andean sampler
• Visit Inca Museum — $4/person
• Dinner —  Local pizza restaurant on the corner of Avenue El Sol and Plaza de Armas with pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and trout dishes for $5-15/item
• Overnight at El Mercado — Lovely hotel about 3 blocks from Plaza de Armas with nice courtyard and stylish rooms
• More Pictures of Cusco >>

DAY 3 — Cusco

• 

  Qoricancha (at the church of Santo Domingo)

  Casa Concha (Machu Picchu) Museum — Decent museum but new so not as much content as the Inca Museum and more expensive $8/person

• Lunch at Yanapay Restaurant — This is a “magical”, fun, brightly decorated, casual restaurant right up the street from the Casa Concha Museum.  It supports a local alternative school. $5-15/item
• Half-day group city tour of Cusco — Includes 6 stops, 5+ hours (1pm-6pm) finished in the dark, would have preferred a private tour….

1. Cathedral — Absolutely beautiful and interesting inside, no photos allowed
2. Qorikancha — Fascinating history and well-worth a visit
3. Alpaca factory — I wasn’t happy to stop at a store on our tour, but in retrospect, it was interesting, and I wish I had bought more there.  Baby alpaca scarves are $30-40, adult alpaca scarves are $10, they give a 10% discount for cash or credit card, and you can negotiate 10-20%.
4. Sacsaywaman — Interesting ruins where the Inti Raymi Festival is held every year, you can also hike to here from Cusco in about 1/2 hour
5. Qenko — Maze-like ruins, can be done quickly
6. Tambomachay — Inca baths, get there before dark….

• Dinner at Incanto — Wood-burning pizza oven, pasta, Peruvian dishes, risotto, and passion fruit pisco sour for $10-20/item

DAY 4 — Sacred Valley

• 

  Traditional weaving in the Sacred Valley

  Full day private Sacred Valley tour — Included 6 stops, 1.5 hours to first stop, morning snack provided (bottled water, peach juice box, granola bar, tangerine), bought whistles at viewpoint for $1 each, roads are windy

1. Awana Wasi Textile Center — lots of llamas, alpacas, and vicunas with feeding, traditional weavers spinning and dying yarn, large store
2. Pisca Ruins — Nice, easy to access ruins with burial caves, can walk 2.5-3 hours down to Pisac Market
3. Pisac Market — Large tourist market with local products, some days have fruit and vegetable market as well
4. Alambra Restaurant & Hacienda — Nice buffet of Peruvian food in beautiful setting, plus alpacas and parrots
5. Ollantaytambo Ruins — Lots of stairs, small market by entrance (bought Angry Bird knit hat for $10)
6. Ollantaytambo village and local home — Easy walk through traditional Inca streets, visit local home for $1/person

• Overnight at Sonesta Posada Hotel — Quaint monastery with beautiful gardens 1/2 hour from Ollantaytambo
• More Pictures of Sacred Valley >>

DAY 5 — Inca Trail Express Trek

• 

  Winay Wayna Ruins on the Inca Trail Express Trek

  7:30am train, off at Km 104 to start trek, light snack provided on train, Expedition train has nice seats and large windows

• Hiking at 9:15am, Sun Gate at 3:45pm (6.5 hours hiking), 4:30pm bus to Aguas Calientes (5:30pm is the last bus)
• Inca Trail Express — path follows contour of mountain to Winay Wayna, then lots of stairs up, and up and down to Sun Gate.  Our hike was sunny, hot, and humid with no shade except 2 rest huts until above Winay Wayna.
• Winay Wayna — Beautiful terraces and water features, lots and lots of stairs, llamas grazing, great views, nice spot for lunch (bottled water, peach juice box, chicken salad sandwich, chicken with fried rice, energy bar, tangerine, Oreo’s, chocolate candy, coco hard candy
• Sun Gate — Entrance into Machu Picchu with great views, can be crowded for photos, keep walking for even better viewpoints
• Overnight Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel — Beautiful, spacious hotel along the river with lots of included cultural activities
• More Pictures of Inca Trail Express >>
• More Pictures of Aguas Calientes >>

DAY 6 — Machu Picchu

• 

  Machu Picchu

  Bus to Machu Picchu — 1/2 hour ride one-way, can be a line at the bottom in the morning and at the top in the afternoon, first bus at 5:30am and last at 5:30pm

• Tour of Machu Picchu — 2 hour walking tour of Machu Picchu, need passports and ticket to enter
• Hike Wayna Picchu — Very, very steep stairs the whole way up, a few good viewpoints en route, need passport and ticket to sign up plus sign-in number to sign out, 44 minutes up + 36 minutes down
• Lunch at Sanctuary Lodge — $40/person, big buffet, gets crowded, also a snack bar by the bus area with outdoor tables
• Aguas Calientes — Cute pedestrian-only town, walk from train or bus to hotels, cute restaurants along railroad track  and walkway uphill from Plaza de Armas, large tourist market right next to train station
• More Pictures of Machu Picchu >>
• More Pictures of Wayna Picchu >>

DAY 7 — Train to Cusco, fly to Arequipa

• 

  Arequipa Plaza de Armas

  Vistadome Train to Ollantaytambo — 1.5 hours to Ollantaytambo + 1.5 hours more to Cusco/Poroy + 20 minutes drive Poroy to Cusco or 2 hour drive from Ollantaytambo to Cusco, dancing and fashion show on train, light snacks and drinks provided

• Fly Cusco to Arequipa — 2 hour flight including stop in Juliaca, Cusco Airport did not have enough seats, food, or toilet paper
• Overnight Sonesta — Right on Plaza de Armas, so great views, restaurant on 3rd floor, 3-star hotel at 4-star price because of location
• More Pictures of Arequipa >>

DAY 8 — Drive Arequipa to Colca Canyon

• 

  Llamas on drive from Arequipa to Colca Canyon

  Tour from Arequipa to Chivay — 4 hours with stops (8am departure), road is windy

• Lunch at Qhapaq Nan Restaurant — Buffet was excellent and only $10/person!
• Chivay Market — Cute local market with a few tourist items too
• Overnight Colca Lodge — Awesome hot springs, alpaca farm, upscale rustic feeling, nice spa, 8 minutes from Chivay

DAY 9 — Condors, Arequipa

• 

  Condor at Colca Canyon

  Cruz de Condor — 6:30am departure, 1.5 hour drive to condor viewpoint (8am), we saw 2 of them! which flew right over our heads, plan on 1 hour at condor area

• Maca Village — Quick stop at this small village with beautiful church, eagle and llamas for photos, and cute little market including prickly pear smoothies
• Drive to Arequipa — 3.5 hour drive back with one stop at snack bar and bathrooms ($3 for ham and cheese sandwich)
• Monastery of Santa Catalina — Large, maze-like monastery that is beautiful and interesting, $12/person entrance, guides available for extra and take 1 hour
• Museum of Andean Sanctuaries — Houses Juanita the ice maiden, who is 500 years old, very interesting but cold, takes 1 hour and must use a guide and stay with group, $8/person
• Overnight La Hosteria — Cute and cozy hotel with nice patio and upper deck right behind the monastery and about 3 blocks from the Plaza de Armas
• More Pictures of Colca Canyon >>

DAY 10 — Lima

• Indian Market — Great last minute shopping
• Day Room at Casa Andina Centro — Unremarkable but clean and decently priced hotel in the middle of town, 1 hour to the Lima Airport in bad traffic