lorerts

Hello, we have three nights to acclimate before heading out on our 4 day trek to Machu Picchu. Should we stay in Cusco (Hotel Monasterio?) or in Urumbamba/Sacred Valley (Sol y Luna?)?

Thanks!

Elizabeth_S

While it is easier to acclimate in the SV I think the decision has more to do with what you want to do/your interests.

We stayed 4 nights in Ollantaytambo before going to MP and the Sanctuary Lodge for 2 nights (I saw your other post on that - we loved the Sanctuary Lodge because we could wander in and out of MP - from early in the morning until it closed).

Anyway - we preferred the SV to Cusco - and really loved Ollantaytambo - we stayed at a small hotel (Sauce) but Hotel Pakaratimpu is very nice as well.

We were happy we chose Ollanta over Urubumba - it doesn't have the charm of Ollanta (IMHO) and I had read some bad reviews of the service at Sol y Luna.

Graziella5b

Hi Elizabeth, without considering the hotel itself what would you prefer and why Ollantaytambo or Urubumba....
We cannot afford going to the real expensive hotels in the general area between Cuzco and Machu Pichu but in middle of the line hotels.

Elizabeth_S

The single biggest difference is the presence of the ruin right in Ollantaytambo - we had a lovely view of it from our room in Hotel Sauce (which is quite inexpensive by the way) - also Ollantaytambo is very well preserved from the Incan time - some find it a little touristy but we didn't - we really liked it.

Urubumba is bigger and not as attractive (IMHO) - there are several things to do along the river though if that's what interests you.

There are some pix of Ollanta on our blog

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...aca/index.html

Hoyas

I agree Ollantaytambo is very nice place to stay, the ruins make it special as do the narrow walking paths in town. We walked into Hotel Sauce last week and they were willing to rent a room with breakfast for US $69.

Graziella5b

Hi Elizabeth, I enjoyed tremendously your pictures and what you wrote. Congratulations..
We do not think that we are going to bit the bullet and stay in the Orient Express Hotel, sounds lovely, but it is way beyond our budget.Also I feel as you do, that we do not wish to do out of the way climbing etc. ,besides we are on our way from US to Buenos Aires, and th Peru portion of our trip this time is like a middle way stop so it is not the time for us to go to a lot of places. For instance I had rejected the option of the little town of Pisac, ( even before knowing how difficult is to get there? Did I understood you right?) because I thought that the main interest was a fair. Also I feel, and need your help,because of the nature of our trip I would like to focus in archeology but it doesn't have to be exhaustive, do you thing in makes sense besides de obvious of MP to include only Ollataytambo?
Again great pictures, great everythin...
Itook note of your sensitive remarks regarding the people, the rightly proud Incas, a direct contact with them is also in our plans,lovely, proud people
we shall try our best not to look foolish to them...

Elizabeth_S

Hi Graziella5B - do you regularly post on the Europe board? Your name is very familiar to me.

Thanks for the comments regarding the blog - I can't take any credit (other than typing and that's a little shaky!) - my husband does most of the photography and writing.

Regarding Pisac - I think you're referring to a comment we make that we turned back - but that was from climbing up to the ancient Pisac ruins, not the market town that is a frequent stop for SV visitors. We didn't really care for the town/market but we really liked the Pisac ruins - about 45 minutes from Ollanta by private car.

That was the thing that surprised me the most - I approached the whole thing initially as "we're going to Machu Picchu" but with some research (and a lot of information from our guide David) I learned of all the other wonderful sites - Pisac Ruins, Moray, Ollantaytambo and then just stopping at the little restaurants and shops.

I really recommend a private guide/driver and (obviously) recommend David Choque - he made our trip for us.

Graziella5b

Hi Elizabeth, yes I post frequently in the Europe forum.
We live in the US but go as often as possible to Europe. To Buenos Aires too, because we have two daughters and grandchildren there. Thank your husband then he did a great job. Thank also for the clarification, I believe we are going to focus in MP and Ollantaytambo and of course Cusco. ciao.