mimi2015

hello i am planning to go to peru this year i am originally from lima and have never been to cuzco, i was hoping 3 days will be enough there. also my bf is coming to meet the family so we need some days in lima as well, i know i might be stretching our staying but i was hoping we could squeeze in a visit to nazca lines, any thoughts, advice or experience from travelers is much helpful and appreciated, thank you

mlgb

I would try to do 4 days/3 nights minimum between the Sacred Valley, Cusco and Machu Picchu. MP itself really can be done in a full day from Ollantaytambo which is the station with most of the trains. But to that I would want to add a day each side for travel, plus a day to tour the Sacred Valley.

Grindeldoo

You can't see a great deal of the Nazca lines unless you take a flight in a light aircraft - when I was there in October 2011 I think the going rate was US$50 per passenger but may be wrong on that. Unless things have changed, caution is advised when picking the company to fly with as there have been several fatal crashes in the last few years.

Gilthoniel

A large number of tourists travel by train from Cusco in the morning, arriving at the foot of the mountain near noon. They take the busses up and take a guided tour, then come back down and take the afternoon train back to Cusco.

Don't do it! I went to Machu Picchu a few years back and was very pleased that I chose to stay overnight in the town at the foot of the mountain and take the first bus up in the morning. It is much quieter in the morning and the site is gorgeous in the morning light. I found a guide book written by two MP archeologists and following it made thevisit absolutely fascinating.

Be warned that, unless it has changed since I was there, once you are past the admissions to the site there are no official sources of water, so be sure to take enough in. You can get dehydrated faster than you realize climbing the ruins for hours.

I'm not fit enough to climb Huanu Picchu, but if you are, there are only two times in the morning when you're allowed up. You have to sign in and sign back in when you get back down so they know if anyone fell off

The 1.5 mile hike to Inti Punku is nice too. Not too difficult unless you didn't bring enough water, like I didn't! But fabulous views of the mountain and the site, just as those arriving on the Inca Trail would have seen (without having to actually hike the trail! A plus or a minus, depending on your point of view.)

Have fun!

mlgb

If you take the train from Cusco you get locked in to arriving midday when it gets crowded. Unfortunately many people do not realize that there are better options from Ollantaytambo train station.

One can take an early train (5 or 6 am) from Ollantaytambo. There are also trains that go back after the site has closed.

Schedules are here

http://www.perurail.com/destination-machu-picchu

tripplanner001

Hi Gilthoniel, I'm thinking about a visit to South America next year and am doing early research right now. Would you happen to remember the name of the guidebook you used for MP? Thanks.

mlgb

tripplanner001, this is probably the best and most widely used

http://www.amazon.com/The-Machu-Picc...3?tag=yukko-20

tripplanner001

Thanks mlgb. I'll check it out.