Kristina

Hello-

My husband and I are going to Peru for a week in April. We are flying overnight from LA to Lima, arriving in the morning and catching a connecting flight to Cusco, arriving about 2pm.
I've contacted a driver/guide for our 4 days there. He will provide the airport transfer, 2 day tours and a transfer+sightseeing to Cusco. I'm looking for some feedback on our proposed itinerary.

This is the current plan:
Saturday- Arrive Cusco, transfer to Urubamba hotel late afternoon
Sunday- Sacred Valley tour; Ollantaytambo archeological site, Pisaq market and ruins.
Monday- Sacred Valley tour- Maras salt pans, Moray terraces, Chincheros town.
Tuesday- visit Machu Picchu
Wednesday-Transfer from hotel to Cusco, visiting Sacsayhuaman, Quenko , Pucapucara,
Tambomachay, Qoricancha ( temple of the Sun).

Questions:
1. My reasoning behind visiting MP on a Tuesday is because I'd read Mondays at MP can be busy because most tourists visit the market towns on Sundays and Tuesdays. But because of this, we'd be visiting Chincheros on a Monday when there is no official market day. Is it worth it? I'd really wanted to see the market there. But we will also be at Pisac on Sunday.

2. Should I reorganize the itinerary to go to MP on Monday and do the Day 2 of SV on Tuesday?

3. I'm not sure how long each one of the SV sights takes to visit, but the guide is allowing for about a half day for each tour, returning us to our hotel "after lunch". Does that seem rushed? Part of me thinks so, but the other part wonders if due to altitude, I might welcome the opportunity to rest on those days in the afternoon.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

dwdvagamundo

I think you should have one more day in Cusco. That means having just one day seeing the Sacred Valley. There are a number of one-day tours of the Sacred Valley that include Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chincheros. I think that is plenty for your first trip.

Also, Quenko, Puca pucara and Tambomachay are not right in Cusco, but on the road to Pisac, although they are close enough to take the bus to then walk back to Cusco, through Sacsayhuaman.

Can't help you on what days to do what, but I believe that the biggest market in Pisac is Wednesday. The Ollantaytambo site involves a fairly steep climb up stone steps or terraces and would be pretty difficult to do the first full day at altitude.

The key to overcoming altitude sickness is to eat nothing at all during the first day you get to the mountains, take it as easy as possible, drink the coca leaf tea your hotel will offer, and then perhaps have a bowl of soup at night. Glucosamine may help.

Kristina

Hi dwdvagamundo-

We do have one more day in Cusco. I just didn't mention it because I was focused on the part of the trip outside of Cusco. We also have two days in Lima at the end of the trip.

mlgb

Machu Picchu is going to be crowded no matter when you visit.

To see it less crowded, arrive early and/or depart late.

The Sunday tour is too full and the Monday tour is too light.

Do you plan to walk around either the Pisac or Ollantaytambo ruins? If so I would split them up and not have them on the same day. Walking down from the top of Pisac (after seeing the market in the morning) would be a nice thing to do at the end of the half day tour. You can find your own taxi back to Urubamba (or take the bus).

Kristina

mlgb-

Those two days (Sunday and Monday) were suggested by the guide we've hired.

Assuming we'd want to see all those places (Ollantaytambo , Pisaq market and ruins, Maras salt pans, Moray terraces, and Chincheros) how would you split them up between 2 days? We will have a car and driver and won't need take a bus or taxi to get between places.

mlgb

I would put Pisac market and ruins on their own on Sunday. This assumes you are going to spend the morning at the market, and the afternoon taking a longer walk down from the ruins at the top. Even if you are not, it is better to have a light first day and a longer second day.

First the Chinchero market, then Moray and Maras, and ending in Ollantaytambo where you can take time to explore the ruins at leisure. If necessary you can also find your own transport back to Urubamba.

The guide is for half a day, right? The Pisac ruins and trail are extensive, so if you want to walk down, it can take more than 4 hours between the two. That is why I would suggest taking your own transport back, you can take it slowly going downhill, have late lunch in Pisac (watch the sunset on the ruins from Ulrike's rooftop). I would ask the guide to walk you through the market, have a snack at the colonial horno, take you to see the Mayors arriving, and then give you a short tour at the top of the ruins, leaving you to walk down at your own pace. He can show you where to catch the taxis at the bottom of town.

There are lots of other tourists on the trail on Sundays, as well as locals looking to make a few dollars selling trinkets or helping you walk down. Or, you might wait to decide on this last part of the day (the hike) when you arrive. Some people do need to take it easier on the first day, and if it has been raining I would consider skipping the hikes (In that case just look around the top of the ruins and have the guide drive you back to Urubamba).

Tourists get too worked up about safety in the Sacred Valley and feeling like they need to arrange every last minute precisely with a protective guide. Pisac and Ollantaytambo are mellow small towns, depend on their tourism as a big part of the cash economy, and there are policemen around to help tourists. Most of the taxi drivers have standard rates that they charge between towns.

Kristina

I'm still trying to decide on which days to go where. The guide suggested that we do Chincheros on Monday, but the market there is on Sunday. When I asked about that, he said we could do Chincheros on Sunday and Pisac and its market on Monday. He said the Pisac market is every day.

I'm concerned about going to Chincheros on our first full day there because it's the highest elevation. But I also don't want to miss out on the market. And what about Pisac market on a Monday? Is it not as big?

crellston

Pisac market is best done on a Sunday when the "real" market happens. The weekday markets tend to be more about souvenir stalls and much smaller. Very little of the traditional market.

I agree with mlgb's suggestion to spen the day there. Market in the morning and a walk down through the ruins in the afternoon. If time permits, you could always visit Tambo Machay, Sacasayhuaman on the way back but personally, I would visit on a separate day starting at T m and walking back down to Cusco via Sacsayhuaman and some of the other sites. It real is a beautiful walk.

I probably preferred Chinchero market as it seemed more "authentic" and somewhat less tourist orientated but it is much smaller. It is worth going there to see the square and the inside of the church which is pretty amazing.

If you want a taste of truly authentic market life then go visit one of the many markets in Cusco. A nice way to spend an hour or three.

Kristina

It sounds like the best day for both these markets is on Sunday so that's what I'm trying to figure out. I can't do both on the same day.
Crellston-which day did you go to Pisac and which day dis you visit Chincheros?

As for Cusco, anything around there will be visited later, after we are in Cusco.

crellston

Our first time in Peru we visited both Pisac and Chinchero on a Sunday ( a very long day but entirely possible) our blog entry of that trip @
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...8980/tpod.html

We did include Moray and Maras that day but they are probably best done from Ollantaytambo

We visited Pisac again last year on a Wednesday by bus from Cusco

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...4673/tpod.html

This last time we climbed from the town to the top of the ruins. NOT recommended if you are not properly acclimatised!!

mlgb

Why can't you do both on the same day? Because your guide won't accommodate you?

Kristina

mlgb-No, I haven't asked the guide to do both on the same day. I thought the itinerary made the most sense in terms of geographical grouping.

Sunday will be our first full day there and I'm not sure I want to try and squeeze everything together on one day. As I said above, I'm also concerned that going to Chincheros at 12,500 feet on our first day might be a mistake. OTOH, that seems to be the best day to see the market there.

mlgb

You will have Saturday to adjust, if you don't feel well in the morning could you just ask the guide to modify the itinerary? I assume you have him for the day regardless.

It is true that Chinchero is quite high, but the amount of walking is small. It doesn't take long to see it.

If you are interested in photography, waiting for the mayors to arrive at the chapel in Pisac would be a priority. You will want to bring 1 sol coins though, they expect to be paid.

Kristina

Back from Peru and a follow up on our itinerary...

This is what we ended up doing:
Saturday- Arrive Cusco, transfer to Urubamba hotel late afternoon
Sunday- Sacred Valley tour- Maras salt pans, Moray terraces, Chincheros town.
Monday- visit Machu Picchu
Tuesday- Sacred Valley tour; Ollantaytambo archeological site, Pisaq market and ruins.
Wednesday-Transfer from hotel to Cusco, visiting Sacsayhuaman, Quenko , Pucapucara,Tambomachay, Qoricancha
After this we had 2 nights in Cusco and 2 nights in Lima.

We loved the first day, Sunday. It was a long day, but very interesting. Something to note; we were in Chinchero early in the morning and there wasn't much going on in the big square in front of the church in terms of a market (which would have been crafts only anyway). However, down at the bottom of the hill there is a large outdoor local food market and it was bustling and a photographer's dream.

Monday was a long day up and back to MP, but frankly, I'm happy not to have stayed in Aguas Calientes. We loved the Tambo del Inka hotel in Urubamba and the time we had at MP was plenty, especially considering it was raining for part of it.

Tuesday is a day I would change if I had to do it again. There was just too much driving back and forth to see Pisac. If I were to do it again, I would add Pisac on to the drive to Cusco from the SV and maybe skip some the smaller sites closer to Cusco. Then we could have just gone to Ollantaytambo and had a half day to rest and enjoy the hotel (which we never got).

mlgb

I tried to tell you that day was too full!!

Good report on Chinchero market, I have never been there on the Sunday. When I went was 5 yrs ago, before the floods. There were no stands and the vendors just laid out tarps in the main square. We went during the week on the way back to Cusco and I still managed to purchase a few things which were clearly handmade by the vendors.

I am curious if you looked at the craft market and if it is now all the same mass produced items that you can find in Pisac, Aguas Calientes and Cusco.

Kristina

Since our first day was in Chinchero, we really had no basis to compare what would be available elsewhere.
We bought a sweater and 2 scarves from the women in the weaver's cooperative there. And then I bought a sweater and a large scarf/pashmina from a woman in the Chinchero square wo said she made them herself, but I really don't know for sure.
Later it seemed like we saw the same things everywhere, so I don't know. I bought a few more things in the Pisac market but by then, everything looked the same! Things were cheapest in Pisac.

Kathie

Thanks for reporting back, Kristina. Things to think about for our trip...