Fabio

Family of 4 with 2 kids aged 16 and 9, well used to travel also to remote areas like Patagonia, Mongolia etc...preferring independent trips whenever possible or strongly recommended. This is actually our provisional plan for this July. Accomodations booked but we are flexible and could change itinerary and order if necessary or better.

day 1 arr in Lima from EU
day 2 Lima
day 3 morning flight Lima - Cuzco
day 4 (thursday market in Pisac or Chinchero?)
day 5 Cuzco
day 6 Cuzco/Chinchero if not already done on day 4
day 7 early bus Cuzco to Ollantaytambo, stop there some hours for visiting and afternoon train to Aguas Calientes, overnight there.
day 8 early morning visit to Machu Picchu before the crowds come and afternoon train back to Cuzco
day 9 early tourist bus Cuzco to Puno (9 hours with stops for guided sightseeing and lunch) arr about 5pm
day 10 Lake Titicaca boat tours, floatng islands etc
day 11 Lake Titicaca Taquile Island
day 12 Sillustani Ruins and 7pm flight Juliaca to Lima
day 13 Flight back to EU

Questions

1) How do you compare the thursday vs. sunday market in Pisac ? Would it be worth to change itinerary making Machu Picchu first and Cuzco later with a day trip to Pisac or Chinchero on sunday if the market is better than on thursday ?
2) How do you compare the Pisac vs. Chinchero market ? is there a thursday market as well in Chinchero or just only on sunday ?
3) on day 7 where could we leave our bags during the few hours stay in Ollantaytambo ? Any recommendations for the morning bus from Cuzco to Olly ? which company ?
4) should we expect a strong altitude feeling or sickness on day 9 on the way from Cuzco (3400m) to Puno (3800m) but having to reach la Raya Pass at 4335m altitude ?
5) average temperature in mid july ?

any other comments or suggestions are highly welcome ! thanks a lot !

hup234

Hi We leave for Peru in two days and I have to tell you - book your train tickets Machu Picchu AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!

Fabio

thanks for the hint ! That is my next step after having fixed whether to make Machu Picchu before or after Cuzco due to the sunday market in Pisac. I just hope that the afternoon train to MP is less crowded than the morning one !

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Pisac's Sunday market has more pageantry associated with it. It's more photogenic. Thursday is certainly impressive too, and if that's what works best for your schedule, Thursday is fine.

crellston

I would give serious consideration to spending at least one night in Ollantaytambo. It is a beautiful place and is worth at least a half day on its own, if not more. It is also a great palce from which to visit the rest of the SV, Moray, Maras Salineras and Chinchero can all be seen in a day and Pisac is easily visited en route from Cusco.

Pisac market is much bigger than Chinchero but Chinchero is more atmospheric particulalrly if you visit at sunset. The interior of the church on the square is amazing.

I presume you are using the Inka express bus from Cusco to Puno. if so good choice! It is a spectacular trip. You will almost certainly feel the altitude difference as you go over the pass to Puno and probably on the lake itself. We had been in teh SV and Cusco for several weeks and thought we were reasonably acclimatised but we did experience the usual symptoms. My wife was quite bad when we hiked around one of the islands on Titicaca. Just don't over do it.

Public buses arechep and easy to get from the main station in Cusco to Olly and are worth it for the "experience" but you will have to change in Urumbamba. With 4 of you a taxi maybe worth considering. If you bargain hard you should get one for 50/60N Soles.

Fabio

thants a lot ! great advices !

One night in Olly would solve the bags storage problem but means 1 additional packing/unpacking

Cusco to Puno, Yes, I am considering Inka Express or Turismo Mer or Cruz del Sur ! Still an open point and collect your vote for Inka Express !

Chinchero: is it worth visiting beside of the market or just for the market ? Do they have the market also in other days than sunday ?

qwovadis

adventures.worldnomads.com/destination/168/itinerary/23.aspx

Usually better to adjust to altitude see more and cheaper

for me to follow the Gringo Trail

If you fly to Cusco go to ollantaytambo.org to altitude adjust

apulodge.com KBTambo Hostal tour about from there include MP

Train cheaper easier not ever booked just buy in Olly

though your hotels or at the station $29-39 for the

backpacker tains when there last year for me. For Pisac

Sunday best market day. Grupo Ormeno fastest direct bus to

titicacaperu.com

mlgb

I would recommend on day 2 flying to Cusco and continuing on to Ollantaytambo for a few days at a lower elevation. Put MP in the middle of that leg of the trip. Stay at Cusco after you have been to Machu Picchu and before going to Lake Titicaca. I think it's a good idea to get to the Sacred Valley as early as possible so that you can adjust to the altitude. You won't regret it, especially Ollantaytambo. There are a few other hotels beside KB Tambo.

Do move everything up a day, returning to Lima no later than the morning of day 12. Too much can go wrong with flights in Peru and you want a cushion so that you don't miss the international flight back.

IronBenderII

Hi there, thought I'd weigh in...

1. Cusco is amazing, I'd recommend a few days there to check out the ruins, go horseback riding, etc. We loved Cusco!

2. Olly - I wouldn't stay there over night, we didn't like it very much at all. The ruins are okay but crowded and the town wasn't much.

3. Pisac was great but don't forget the ruins! We did the market in the AM and the ruins a little later in the day. The market was cool but the ruins were great. Get a ride up and consider walking all the way down to town if you like to hike.

4. Like somebody else said, get your MP train tickets as early as possible! Often times you can get a package for train / hotel / guide... Shop around!

Have fun!!

mlgb

Wow totally disagree about Olly. The whole point of staying in Olly is to visit the ruins before the tour busses arrive.

We nver got a trip report from you Bender!

crellston

I too disagree about Olly. We stayed there for 3 weeks and loved it. I cannot recall it being crowded at all during our time there except of course when tour buses stop for a couple of hours, even then we didn't find it fantastically busy. The ruins are beautiful and it would be great to have the time to see them at your own pace and to get away from the Plaza de Armas and explore the side streets and alley and see a little of real life in the SV. The photograpy is also a lot better in the early am and late pm.

Fabio

thanks to all of you !!

I have revised the itinerary with some changes after your comments

day 3 early flight Lima - Cusco and taxi to Olly
day 4 Olly ruins, around and 15:37 train to Aguascalientes
day 5 early morning bus to MP (6am or so) and 16:43 train to Cusco
day 6 Cusco
day 7 SUNDAY market Chinchero or Pisac
day 8 Cusco and around
day 9....... as above unchanged

I also followed the precious advice to buy train tickets already ! I did it online and after my purchase I made a fictious new request on the same train and it was sold out !!! 3 months before!