PERU
Trip Duration: 9 Days, 9 Nights
Time of Year: Spring (End of April, Beginning of ay)
Traveled With: Just the two of us!
Highlights: Lucuma, Alpaca sweaters
Before you Go -General Tips/Knowledge: GET Altitude pills, Drink Coca tea, spanish basics are helpful
Trip Cost: $1,500 (excluding Cusco food & DOMESTIC transport)
Day 1 - CUSCO
After a connecting flight in Lima, we made it to Cusco!
Knowing Cusco’s elevation was over 11,000 feet, today’s priority was allowing our bodies to acclimate to the intense altitude.
Our AirBnB was walking distance from the main center. We walked the streets and spontaneously stopped by some localattractions.
We ate dinner at “Morena Kitchen” which proved to be one of our favorite meals! We shared a few delicious dishes. We wish we came back here a 2nd time!
DAY 2 - CUSCO
Today was spent, again, adjusting our bodies to the altitude. We had a short seminar with our Inca Trail guide company today - so we planned our day aroudn that.
We quickly learned that when in Cusco - bring your umbrella! The rain comes & goes on-and-off all day.
We ate lunch at “Museo del Cafe” we ended up eating here 2x because it was convenient & delicious). We liked sitting on the balcony while eating for some good ol’ people watching!
DAY 3 - INCA TRAIL
Today’s hike: 9 miles
Cusco – Piskacucho Km 82 – Llactapata- Ayapata
In order to hike the Inca Trail, you need to choose a tour guide company. Based on nearly flawless TripAdvisor reviews, we chose the 4 day, 3 night trip with "Alpaca Expeditions". Using this company was seriously worth every single penny! Our tour guide was great and we were perfectly matched with 3 other couples from Australia (who obviously became great friends by day #4!). Alpaca Expeditions prepares epic meals in the middle of nature, sets up your tents & porta-potties, and has a team of porters who carry most of your stuff :) The overall experience is pretty much glamping in beautiful scenery with amazing company!
Although you feel a bit spoiled with the tour company treatment, that is not to say the hike is a walk in the park. In fact, the hike is extremely strenuous and challenging with the altitude constantly adjusting. You will be required to do intense inclines followed by intense declines. Over and over again. Expect to be out of breath after just a few steps. Fortunate for all of us, the views are glorious every minutes of this journey.
Pro tip: Wear lots of layers! The weather is changing constantly. We are talking sunny and gorgeous for 15 minutes, raining and humid for 15 minutes, windy and cold for 15 minutes, type of deal. Repeat for 48 hours.
DAY 4 - INCA TRAIL
Today’s hike: ~10 miles
Dead Woman´s Pass – Runcuraccay Pass – Chaquiccocha
Above the clouds!
DAY 5 - INCA TRAIL
Today’s hike: ~ 6 miles
Chaquiccocha – Wiñaywayna
DAY 6 - INCA TRAIL
Today’s hike: ~3 miles
Sun Gate - Machu Picchu – The Lost City Of The Incas
Have you ever woken up at 2AM and RAN like a mad person to be the first in line for something? Maybe Black Friday? Today we did this. Not for the hottest new TV, but to be the first round of hikers to get our tickets to enter Machu Pichu. Props to Alpaca Expeditions, we succeeded. After waiting for hours until the booth opened, we got our tickets and RAN again! We ran through the misty, dark hiking trail as the sun slowly started to rise in the distance. We ran uphill and downhill. We wanted to be the first ones to the Sun Gate and, selfishly, have the first glimpse of Machu Pichu all to ourselves.
Well, the selfishness backfired on us. We were indeed the 1st ones there, but unfortunately there was endless fog in the distance and we had absolutely no visibility. For hours. Lol jokes on us!
As the sun fully rose and the tourists (who didnt hike, but came by train) started to pour in we started to feel nervous. We were at Machu Pichu, but couldn’t see 5 feet in front of us from the fog.
We only had about an hour left before our tour bus would take us to the train home. Low and behold, the fog started to clear! Slowly but surely the Lost City emerged in distance. It felt so surreal. I just got chills writing this! The pictures say it all. This was hands-down one of the coolest sights we have ever seen. It was even more rewarding knowing we hiked our butts off to get here!
We also chose to pay extra for an add-on to hike Huayna Picchu, which is the highest peak seen in the below photo. This hike allows you to have a bird’s eye view of the ruins. This hike was NO joke. It is incredibly vertical with stairs for your feed (more like pegs!) that are entirely too small. Definitely not a good hike for those afraid of hikes! Views are incredible.
Second breakfast at Museo del Cafe!
DAY 7 - CUSCO
As we were unsure how defeated and sore our bodies would be after the Inca Trail, we kept our last 3 days in Cusco open & flexible to feel it out as we went. We had some rough ideas: Maybe Sacred Valley, Colca Canyon, Rainbow Mountain, peruvian cooking class?
Today we ultimately decided to stay local around our AirBnb. We did a lot of eating & window shopping.
Our host recommended an AWESOME local market which was WAY cheaper than most of the store fronts in the heart of Cusco (called “Artesanias Llancaqmaki”). We were in souvenior heaven! We were able to get 3 high quality alpaca sweaters for the price other places were charging for 1!
**where did we eat alpaca for dinner??
DAY 8 - RAINBOW MOUNTAIN
After a low-key day yesterday, we were itchin’ for some adventure and change of sceneary. When contemplating between Sacred Valley & Rainbow Mountain, we chose Rainbow. It just seemed more epic & off-the-beaten-path (AKA calling our names)!!
We were right. Off-the-beaten path, indeed!
We thought about booking a high-end, fancy private tour which would 1) provide early morning drop-off to have the mountain to yourself & 2) expert staff to provide horses and assistance with altitude sickness. However, we thought - let’s save some money!
There are plenty of booths and small store fronts throughout the central area of Cusco. You can book a cheap bus ride with a tour group for less than $30 USD. It wasn’t the most pleasant bus ride & the lunch served to us was certainly sketchy, but we arrived at the mountain safely per our wishes! At the base of the mountain, you can rent a horse with a local Peruvian guide for a small fee + tip. We cannot recommend this enough.
The altitude at Rainbow Mountain is even WORSE than Cusco. As we rode on our horses, we passed plenty of people crying or throwing up. We were grateful not to be those people! We also packed plenty of Coca tea, Coca candy & water to prepare ourselves for the journey.
Similar to hiking to Machu Pichu, definitely expect the unexpected with the weather. During this hike:
The skies were clear and sunny
It rained really hard
There was a hail storm
DAY 9 - CUSCO
Our last day was a day of food! We participated in a chocolate making class and a cooking class in Cusco (separately). We learned about the cocoa bean and Peruvian’s love of superfood. The food was hands-down delicious and triggered our taste buds in new & exciting ways!
