Brief Trip Report: Cusco/Inca Trail/MP
Jul 23rd, 2006, 03:14 PM
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Brief Trip Report: Cusco/Inca Trail/MP
We just returned from perhaps the greatest trip we have ever taken. The tiny bit of Peru that we saw was so fascinating, I don't have the words to adequately describe our experiences. I'd have to write a book, and I'm not that good. We are runners, so we chose a trip that had us run (ha!) the Inca Trail in 3 days with 2 nights camping.
Our trip organizer for this was Andes Adventures. This firm was started 12 years by a native Peruvian and excellent runner, Devy Reinstein. He is an organizational wizard, we highly recommend his company! He specializes in trail running trips, but also has hiking trips and some non-hiking trips. Everything was where it should have been when it should have been, we had the same friendly and skilled bus driver each day on the bus, and our main guide, Abelardo, a native Cusquenan and a killer runner, was with us every step and knew everything about this area and the history. Our package included flights (on LAN airlines - excellent - we even had a brand new plane with video goodies on the way down) from LAX direct to Lima then on to Cusco, 9 nights lodging and 3 meals a day. The price was a bargain! Our hotels and restaurants seemed like the best in town, dinner usually included Peruvian music and dancing, we even had lunch in two beautiful hacienda-style restaurants somewhere along the Urubamba River. Breakfasts were in the hotels, excellent cereals, eggs, fruit, yogurt, breads.
Our meals in camp were a wonder! Everything except our daypacks was carried along the Inca trail by the superhuman porters. We had hot breakfasts, more than we could eat. When we'd arrive tired in the afternoon hot soup would be waiting, then a hot dinner a couple of hours later accompanied by Chilean wine.
Our group totalled 12 people, and we were very lucky to be part of a batch of extremely nice and cheerful people, some very good runners.
An overview of our itinerary:
Day 1, July 7: Afternoon 8 hour flight LAX/Lima, arrived 1:30 a.m., Devy was good enough to have us transported to a hotel for 4 hours sleep and a shower.
Day 2: Morning flight to Cusco, check-in and coca tea at Hotel Picoaga, a lovely old colonial building 2 blocks off of Plaza de Armas on a quiet street. Afternoon walking tour of Cusco down to Koricancha.
Day 3: Morning bus ride up to Sacsayhuaman - incredible! On bus past Quenko and Puca Pucara, with a stop at a place with good quality Alpaca goods. We got a lesson on how to tell the "good stuff". I think the sweaters we bought here really were better than the ones we'd see later in the market. Downhill run about 5 miles back into Cusco through a village and fields. Afternoon free in Cusco, DH and I took a taxi for 6 Soles back up to Sacsayhuaman. Dinner somewhere great.
Day 4: Left Cusco for overnight in Yucay, a town along the Urubamba valley. Had an unscheduled raft trip for a couple hours down the Urubamba River. Visited Chinchero and saw an amazing weaving and dyeing demonstration at a house. Run down past the salt mines at Maras, huge delicious lunch at a hacienda along the river.
Day 5: Starting the Inca Trail. I think we started at KM 77. Ran a couple of miles to a village home that had a hot lunch for us - soup and fried trout! All great, but then we had to run another 5 miles, bleah. Our camp this first night was at Llactapata.
Day 6: The Big Day, 17 miles over the Pass of the Dead Woman, the Runctu...(?) Pass, them camp at 12,000 feet at Phuyupatamarca.
The best runners took 5.5 hours, DH and I took 8.5, and the last group was 9.5 hours. Tough does not describe! Thousands and thousands of stone steps. We want to do it all over again...Our youngest member, an 18 year old girl, had to be piggy backed on a couple of porters over the tough parts.
(A word about these porters. They are real men! They pack your junk and all the camp junk and food and tents and pots and dishes up and down these incredible passes, often wearing only rubber sandals. They always give you a friendly Hola or Buenos Dias as they fly by you down the staircases with their 50 pound loads. Pay them the utmost respect!)
Day 7: 10 miles into Machu Picchu via Intipinku, the Sun Gate. This was easier, we could actually run a few miles. We were lucky to have brilliant sunny weather, that classic view of the ruin had us all ooohing.
(Are you still with me? Sorry this is so long!)
Pizza and beer for lunch in Aguas Calientes! 2 nights at Hotel Posada del Inca, the only trouble was a lack of water pressure in the shower.
Day 8: All day in MP! Up early for a tour (by Abelardo, he knows everything) before the crowds arrive. A huge buffet lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge was included, so we could eat and wander about the ruins as we pleased before catching a bus back to Aguas Calientes. DH ran up both Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountain, and we still had time to spend hours walking about the beautiful ruins and taking photographs. MP is an incredible spot to spend the day, the lights and shadows change.
Day 9: 2 hour train ride to Ollantaytambo. Visit to the ruin and the very interesting town; there was a wedding party in the square, tin cans tied on the car! Back to Cusco to the Hotel Picoaga.
Day 10: Morning flight back to Lima, short city tour (Lima was disappointing, looks like L.A. with some nice Spanish buildings) day room at hotel for nap or shower, great dinner and show somewhere in Miraflores, red-eye back to L.A.
The Andean people that we encountered in the shops and restaurants, and even just walking along, were amazingly friendly and kind. It became a habit to say Hola and a smile to everyone, and we got the same back, even though Peru is obviously a very poor country, in terms of money.
An incredible adventure.
Our trip organizer for this was Andes Adventures. This firm was started 12 years by a native Peruvian and excellent runner, Devy Reinstein. He is an organizational wizard, we highly recommend his company! He specializes in trail running trips, but also has hiking trips and some non-hiking trips. Everything was where it should have been when it should have been, we had the same friendly and skilled bus driver each day on the bus, and our main guide, Abelardo, a native Cusquenan and a killer runner, was with us every step and knew everything about this area and the history. Our package included flights (on LAN airlines - excellent - we even had a brand new plane with video goodies on the way down) from LAX direct to Lima then on to Cusco, 9 nights lodging and 3 meals a day. The price was a bargain! Our hotels and restaurants seemed like the best in town, dinner usually included Peruvian music and dancing, we even had lunch in two beautiful hacienda-style restaurants somewhere along the Urubamba River. Breakfasts were in the hotels, excellent cereals, eggs, fruit, yogurt, breads.
Our meals in camp were a wonder! Everything except our daypacks was carried along the Inca trail by the superhuman porters. We had hot breakfasts, more than we could eat. When we'd arrive tired in the afternoon hot soup would be waiting, then a hot dinner a couple of hours later accompanied by Chilean wine.
Our group totalled 12 people, and we were very lucky to be part of a batch of extremely nice and cheerful people, some very good runners.
An overview of our itinerary:
Day 1, July 7: Afternoon 8 hour flight LAX/Lima, arrived 1:30 a.m., Devy was good enough to have us transported to a hotel for 4 hours sleep and a shower.
Day 2: Morning flight to Cusco, check-in and coca tea at Hotel Picoaga, a lovely old colonial building 2 blocks off of Plaza de Armas on a quiet street. Afternoon walking tour of Cusco down to Koricancha.
Day 3: Morning bus ride up to Sacsayhuaman - incredible! On bus past Quenko and Puca Pucara, with a stop at a place with good quality Alpaca goods. We got a lesson on how to tell the "good stuff". I think the sweaters we bought here really were better than the ones we'd see later in the market. Downhill run about 5 miles back into Cusco through a village and fields. Afternoon free in Cusco, DH and I took a taxi for 6 Soles back up to Sacsayhuaman. Dinner somewhere great.
Day 4: Left Cusco for overnight in Yucay, a town along the Urubamba valley. Had an unscheduled raft trip for a couple hours down the Urubamba River. Visited Chinchero and saw an amazing weaving and dyeing demonstration at a house. Run down past the salt mines at Maras, huge delicious lunch at a hacienda along the river.
Day 5: Starting the Inca Trail. I think we started at KM 77. Ran a couple of miles to a village home that had a hot lunch for us - soup and fried trout! All great, but then we had to run another 5 miles, bleah. Our camp this first night was at Llactapata.
Day 6: The Big Day, 17 miles over the Pass of the Dead Woman, the Runctu...(?) Pass, them camp at 12,000 feet at Phuyupatamarca.
The best runners took 5.5 hours, DH and I took 8.5, and the last group was 9.5 hours. Tough does not describe! Thousands and thousands of stone steps. We want to do it all over again...Our youngest member, an 18 year old girl, had to be piggy backed on a couple of porters over the tough parts.
(A word about these porters. They are real men! They pack your junk and all the camp junk and food and tents and pots and dishes up and down these incredible passes, often wearing only rubber sandals. They always give you a friendly Hola or Buenos Dias as they fly by you down the staircases with their 50 pound loads. Pay them the utmost respect!)
Day 7: 10 miles into Machu Picchu via Intipinku, the Sun Gate. This was easier, we could actually run a few miles. We were lucky to have brilliant sunny weather, that classic view of the ruin had us all ooohing.
(Are you still with me? Sorry this is so long!)
Pizza and beer for lunch in Aguas Calientes! 2 nights at Hotel Posada del Inca, the only trouble was a lack of water pressure in the shower.
Day 8: All day in MP! Up early for a tour (by Abelardo, he knows everything) before the crowds arrive. A huge buffet lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge was included, so we could eat and wander about the ruins as we pleased before catching a bus back to Aguas Calientes. DH ran up both Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountain, and we still had time to spend hours walking about the beautiful ruins and taking photographs. MP is an incredible spot to spend the day, the lights and shadows change.
Day 9: 2 hour train ride to Ollantaytambo. Visit to the ruin and the very interesting town; there was a wedding party in the square, tin cans tied on the car! Back to Cusco to the Hotel Picoaga.
Day 10: Morning flight back to Lima, short city tour (Lima was disappointing, looks like L.A. with some nice Spanish buildings) day room at hotel for nap or shower, great dinner and show somewhere in Miraflores, red-eye back to L.A.
The Andean people that we encountered in the shops and restaurants, and even just walking along, were amazingly friendly and kind. It became a habit to say Hola and a smile to everyone, and we got the same back, even though Peru is obviously a very poor country, in terms of money.
An incredible adventure.
Sep 28th, 2006, 09:02 AM
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Great trip report. We leave Sunday, so your report is wonderful timing for us. We're not running or even hiking the IT, but it's great to read about anyway.
What price range is reasonable for the better quality Alpaca sweaters? I assume the bebe (neck) fur sweaters are the superior ones? I would also assume they're not as heavy, so are better for mild winter locales.
Also, how was the weather at MP and in the Sacred Valley area during the day and early evening? I've read the temp is near 70 daytime, dropping to 40 at night; having a heck of a time figuring out what to pack to be warm enuf at night but not too hot by day.
Thanks for sharing! Claire
What price range is reasonable for the better quality Alpaca sweaters? I assume the bebe (neck) fur sweaters are the superior ones? I would also assume they're not as heavy, so are better for mild winter locales.
Also, how was the weather at MP and in the Sacred Valley area during the day and early evening? I've read the temp is near 70 daytime, dropping to 40 at night; having a heck of a time figuring out what to pack to be warm enuf at night but not too hot by day.
Thanks for sharing! Claire
Sep 28th, 2006, 11:40 AM
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Dear Claire,
We bought our alpaca sweaters at a sweater shop that was just a bit past the Sacsayhuaman site in Cusco, out on the road by itself, looked like a small ranch. The lightweight, machine made ones that we bought started at $70 each, but we ended up paying $150 for three. The "baby" alpaca would be more, and I seem to recall that the handknit ones were about double. Even though this was early in our trip and we hadn't shopped much yet, as we went along it seemed that we ended up with some very nice quality. They are very soft, and when they get dirty, you wash them with shampoo because they are hair! The only reason I'm looking forward to cold weather is so I can wear my sweater!
Our tour included some "lessons" about the local weaving, but I think you can tell a lot about the quality by looking at the colors, the natural dyes aren't as bright, and feeling the wool with your fingers. In the little markets, you will be told that things are alpaca when they are not. Your guide or someone at your hotel should be able to point you to a reputable store. Piles and piles of sweaters will be everywhere! I need very much to go back and shop more...
You'll be comfortable with a sweater and light jacket for night, it's a whole lot warmer at MP and the valley than Cusco . Cusco was really chilly at night, even with 3 layers. Quite hot in the sun at MP, we wore shorts. And got bug bit!
We bought our alpaca sweaters at a sweater shop that was just a bit past the Sacsayhuaman site in Cusco, out on the road by itself, looked like a small ranch. The lightweight, machine made ones that we bought started at $70 each, but we ended up paying $150 for three. The "baby" alpaca would be more, and I seem to recall that the handknit ones were about double. Even though this was early in our trip and we hadn't shopped much yet, as we went along it seemed that we ended up with some very nice quality. They are very soft, and when they get dirty, you wash them with shampoo because they are hair! The only reason I'm looking forward to cold weather is so I can wear my sweater!
Our tour included some "lessons" about the local weaving, but I think you can tell a lot about the quality by looking at the colors, the natural dyes aren't as bright, and feeling the wool with your fingers. In the little markets, you will be told that things are alpaca when they are not. Your guide or someone at your hotel should be able to point you to a reputable store. Piles and piles of sweaters will be everywhere! I need very much to go back and shop more...
You'll be comfortable with a sweater and light jacket for night, it's a whole lot warmer at MP and the valley than Cusco . Cusco was really chilly at night, even with 3 layers. Quite hot in the sun at MP, we wore shorts. And got bug bit!
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