Hello Everyone,
This is my first time here at this forum and am looking forward to your feedback. I and 7 friends are about to embark on a trip to Hike and Tour the Machu Picchu area. I have listed my itinerary and would welcome feedback about the following topics if you don't mind. I have taken out references to the Tour Company that we are using, as I do not wish to recommend them at this time, since we have not had the trip yet. However I do intend to post my thoughts on this subject after the trip. I will also be keeping a daily journal, which I hope to post entries from that in the future. We are leaving on September 5th, 2008.

#1 High Altitude Sickness
#2 Restaurant's that shouldn't be missed & area Specialties that are a must.
#3 Feedback on particular hotels that I may be staying at.
#4 Any packing suggestions

M(8th) Day 2 - Lima - Cuzco City tour & Sacsayhauman Park
Transfer on your own to the Lima airport for the Lan Peru flight #071 departing at 9:40 a.m. arriving Cuzco at 10:55 a.m. Our staff will meet and transfer you to the Casa Andina Hotel. Remainder of the morning to acclimate to the 11,300 ft altitude of the Inca capital of Cuzco. In the afternoon (1:45 p.m.) You will be met by your private guide & bus for a tour to the Inca archaeological sites in Cuzco. First, you will go to the Inca Palace of Q’oricancha. Here it is said the walls were sheeted in gold and could be seen for miles away on a sunny day. It is as well noted that the Solar garden was filled with life sized golden replicas of men, women, children, animals, plants, & insects. All this homage was done in the name of their God of the Sun. Afterwards, continue to the Sacsayhauman Park, where it is said the Inca would "parade their captured tribal leaders" from their conquered lands into the massive complex of architectural stone work. After viewing the site, the leaders were said to concede their power to the Incas just from seeing the massive strength & craftsmanship of the Sacsayhauman site. Later, continue to the Royal Inca baths of Tambo Machay, the "Red Fort" of Pucapucara, & the Amphitheater of Kenko. Early evening return to Cuzco and the Casa Andina Hotel. Evening ( 6:45 - 7:30 p.m. ) orientation for the Inca Trail with your guide to explain your trip and answer any questions that may have. Overnight at the Casa Andina. ( BB )

T(9th) Day 3 - Cuzco - Rafting - Ollantaytambo
Our staff will meet and transfer you in the morning (8:30 -9:00 a.m.) to the Sacred Valley of the Inca. Here you will be instructed by a qualified and experienced guide for the half day of rafting in class II - III rapids in the Sacred Valley. In the mid-afternoon you will have a picnic style lunch on the rivers beach. Afterwards you will continue further into the Sacred Valley passing small towns until you arrive in Ollantaytambo. Here you will proceed to the Casa Andina Hotel where you will relax for the remainder of the day. Overnight at the Casa Andina. ( BB/L )

W(10th) Day 4 - Ollantaytambo - Inca Trail
A mid morning departure by private bus to the starting point at k. 82. in Chilca. After a short hike you will enter into the National Park at Llactapata where you will be registered and the porters will be adjusted for the proper weights of all the equipment. At one time this was used as utilitarian center of large settlement of farming terraces which probably supplied the other Inca trail sites.( All the camping gear is carried by our staff giving you the time to enjoy the beautiful scenic views. Today you will get your first taste of the environment with all the diversity of plants as you hike along the Cusichaca river then on to Huayllabamba which leads into the Amazon basin. All the camping gear is carried by our staff giving you the time to enjoy the beautiful scenic views like the snow capped peak of Mt Veronica that tops out at 19,200 ft. As you make your way through the most intricate pre-Columbian highway system of the Americas (some say the world) you will continue to the village of Huayllabamba, as a steeper climb takes you through part of a mountain forest & up to the point of Llulluchapampa at ( 12,500 ft.) Here you will get your first glimpse of the Vilcabamba range as you settle in for the day and the camp site will be set by the porters at Llulluchapampa. ( Camp ) ( B/L/D ) ( actual campsite locations may vary from day to day due to INC regulations )

T(11th) Day 5 - Inca Trail
After a early breakfast the most difficult part climb of this Inca Trail is the (13,776 ft. ) Warmihuanunca Pass. This point is the highest part of the trip and from here the rest of the trip will be a down hill hike. After a brief moment to catch your breath and take some fabulous photos with your heads in the clouds you will descend into a area known as the orchid zone and continue towards the Inca outpost of Pacasmayo. After time is spent for a healthy lunch you will continue climbing a series of Inca steps and proceed towards the and the ruins of Runcuracay. (12,172 ft. ) Today’s camp will be set adjacent to a plateau and a small lake where clouds slumber by and time stands still. (Camp) ( B/L/D )

F(12th) Day 6 - Inca Trail
The day starts by climbing of the Inca steps to and passing the ruins of Runcuracay and the 12,172 ft. pass. As we descend into the rainforest you will notice a change in the vegetation. Here a variety of colorful plant life is abundant as well as temperatures are several degrees warmer from the higher pass. Our hike then leads us to the archaeological site of Sayajmarca and through an Inca tunnel opening at Phuyupatamarca ruins, ( 12,000 ft. ) where our camp will be set. ( Camp ) ( B/L/D )

S(13th) Day 7 - Inca Trail - Machu Picchu
After a crisp fresh awakening to the breeze flowing through the mountains we enjoy the prepared breakfast and give respect to the mother earth for the gifts she bares. A rapid descent takes you through the cloud forest where a variety of flowers and tropical vegetation, mosses & tree ferns escort you to the magical ruins of Winay Wayna. Here there are several baths and newly uncovered terraces. In the anticipation of continuing on the trail your hearts may begin to pound from the excitement that awaits your every step and breath as you approach the fabled citadel. Just as you are to make your final turn and approach the trails entry a sigh of relief to know the reward is only a few steps further as you enter into Inti Punku Pass or "The Gate of The Sun." Here you will get your first magnificent view of the forgotten city of Machu Picchu. As you proceed downward into Machu Picchu large rock structures or temples are along the path to which the guide will point out as you make your way into "coliseum" like site. As you arrive your guide will explain the history and the myths that surround this archaeological wonder. Several ideas or possibilities have been noted of this massive archaeological complex of acropolis proportion. Weather this site was a pre Incan, a previous leaders sanctuary for his retirement, maybe a location for the virgins to be separated from the kingdom and used as wives for the Inca rulers or even sacrificial for the gods. It seems that the world will never know. After your tour, transfer to the Sanctuary Lodge where lunch will be served. ( 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.) Remainder of the day on your own. Overnight at the Sanctuary Lodge. ( BB/L/D )

S(14th) Day 8 - Machu Picchu - Cuzco
Full day on your own in Aguas Calientes or you may choose to re-enter Machu Picchu. In the late afternoon you will bid farewell to the lost city of Machu Picchu and proceed to the Aguas Calientes train station where you will board the ( 3:00 p.m. ) Vistadome train for your return to Cuzco. After your arrival into the Cuzco train station our staff will meet and transfer you to the Casa Andina Hotel. Overnight at the Casa Andina. ( BB ) ( 2nd day entry fees not incl.) ( Peru Rail train services time may vary & service may be to Ollantaytambo then by tour bus to Cuzco. )

M(15th) Day 9 - Cuzco - Lima
Our staff will meet and transfer you to the Cuzco airport for the Lan Peru flight #018 departing at 9:30 a.m. arriving Lima at 10:50 a.m.

15th, through 19th in Lima.

Hi, Scott,

Looks like a great trip. I hiked the Inka Trail in May and it was fabulous. There are some tour operators that do it in four nights, but we did three like you and I think it's a good pace. The trail is always a little crowded, since it seems that all 500 permits are routinely sold out, but it isn't like you are in a steady line of walkers or anything. The one place where you will feel like you're in a crowd is when you get to the passes and everyone is taking a well deserved rest. I was kind of surprised at how many of the ruin sites on the trail were basically deserted. There are two right outside of the last night's campground and they are both amazing and well worth the visit.

You asked about altitude sickness. We had a couple of extra days before the hike in the Sacred Valley and we tried to walk 10-20 km every day. That's not going to be possible for you, but I'd recommend that you walk wherever you can. Rather than take a car up to Sacsayhuaman, can you walk it? It's not very far, it's very easy to get to and it will get your heart pumping. By the way, we walked up to those ruins several times during our stay in Cusco, and late afternoon, just before closing, is magical. The stones just glow in the fading sunlight. And there are no crowds!

Drink plenty of coca tea. Others we knew chewed on the leaves, but I just couldn't get the hang of it.

If you spend a night in Ollantataymbo (another good place for hiking around in ruins and going up and down), I'd recommend the Heart's Cafe in the main square. It's run by an expat who puts all the profits into a health clinic in nearby small towns and the food is very good. We had the quinoa porridge in the morning before starting the hike and it was so tasty. (Quinoa is a fabulous grain, try the quinoa soup. It was my favorite dish!).

We carried our own packs, and we went very light. It gets cold up in the mountains at night, though, so my advice would be to bring a lot of layers.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. LR

LR,
thanks so much for the advice. We will do as much walking as we can to get acclimated. We are fairly young, early 40's and in pretty good shape, so with any luck we won't have issues with the Altitude. We enjoy the walking around and exploring. We probably could have had more time to get used to the Altitude, but we really wanted to fit the Rafting trip in as well and the extra night at the Sanctuary Lodge. Our goal is to rise early on that last day and get up the other Mountain to watch the sunrise. We will take your advice on Heart's Cafe too, sounds like it will be very good. Did you try the Specialties of the area, i.e. Guinea Pig? Lama? How about the Beers, I am told they are pretty good. I plan to carry a day pack, about 10# with me and the Sherpas will carry the rest. In fact I am so excited I am already packed and not leaving until 9-5.

Thanks again for your feedback.
Scott

Hi, Scott,

I didn't try the guinea pig nor llama since I'm pretty much a vegetarian, but my 23 year old son ate them both. He thought the llama wasn't very tasty but liked the guinea pig more. In part that may be because the llama looked like it had no flavoring whereas the cuy was in a sauce of some kind.

I had a few Cusquenas (one of the Peruvian beers) and thought it was fine. But it was always after a long walk and at that point, most anything cold would have tasted delicious. I think the other main beer is Cristal -- my son thought it wasn't as good, though he thought their dark beer was pretty good.

And I just saw that you have four days in Lima -- are you planning on spending all four days in the city? LR

HI LR,
Thanks for the feedback on the regional specialties. Most of our group are looking forward to trying most everything. We are planning on spending 4 days in Lima after the Tour portion, mostly a Rehab stint. We are staying in the more tourist area, and near the sea that will allow us some time to experience some of the Cathedrals, Government building, and hopefully good restaurants and shopping. Frankly I can see us spending a good amount of time around the pool, drinking at our hotel. Last night our travel group met to discuss the upcoming trip, and I have to say these people are quite good at thinking ahead and planning. They had great questions which we are forwarding to the Tour Company today. I can say this much, we are all very pumped and ready to go. We are all traveling from Arizona.

Scott