Advice for 2 week Peru trip itinerary
 

We are independant senior travelers. Our plans are as follows:
Day 1 -NY to Lima and direct to Arequipa -arrive late morning -Rest & acclimate
Day2 - Arequipa
Day 3 - Colca Caynon tour
Day 4- Colca Caynon and then 4M bus to Puno
Day5 - Puno and maybe 1/2 day trip to Sillustani
Day6 -Island tours
Day7 - Tour bus to Cusco -arrive and transfer to Olly
Day 8 - Wander Olly and environs
Day 9 - weaving tour and late in day train to AC
Day 10- early morning bus to MP and return on 1:30 train to Olly and collectivo to Pisac
Day 11 (SUN) - Market, ruins and collectivo to Cusco
Day12, 13, 14 Cusco and environs
Day15 -early morning flight through Lima to BA for a long weekend and then HOME!

Questions -1.Should we take a day from Puno and add to Olly or is it easy enough to do Chinchero from Cusco.
2. Would MP be better in the afternoon, say leave Olly late morning and spend the afternoon in MP returning late to Olly and staying the night rather than Pisac.
3, Would anyone know if the buses allow changes of date once the tickets are purchased..
4. Since we arrive late in Cusco and leave immediately for Olly, how would one purchase the Touristic ticket for the sites.
5. Any other suggestions would be welcome and thanks to all you wonderful "fountains of knowledge" . We especially are interested in Peruvian culture and traditions and daily life - so any hints????

1. Olly is a much nicer town than Puno but I am not sure that you could lose a day from Puno - I guess it depends upon the times of the buses. Chinchero is easily visited from either Cusco or Olly and is often visited en route from one to the other. We spent several weeks in the SV and spent one (long!)day on a whirlwind tour of the valley. details here:

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...8980/tpod.html

I doubt you will regret an extra day in Olly and it is preferable to staying in Pisac.

2. Afternoon or morning in MPis a difficult one as most people will do one or the other and hence , have no comparison. We went in the morning and were hampered a little by the fog but we were amongst the first there so it wasn't too crowded. Aquas Calientes is a charmless place, so the less time spent there the better IMO.

3. No idea, but I doubt it is possible and probably varies between companies.

4. Bolleto touristico can be purchased at any of the sites as well as the main office on Avenida del Sol. Alternatively, your hotel could probably arrange to buy them for you so you have them on arrival.

5. Olly is a great place to wander aimlessly around just watching the world go by, especially after the tour buses have departed. Check out Hearts Cafe for high quality food and do look at the weavings and handicrafts they sell as they are high quality and the Living Heat Foundation teh Cafe is part of does a lot of good work in the surrounding villages.

mlgb posted a report on his trip to one of the weaving villages:
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...antaytambo.cfm

For daily life Urumbamba is worth a couple of hours on the bus just to wander the Plaza del Armas and surrounding streets (some great local restaurants around)and the market (never seen so many varieties of potatoes and chillies!) - we shopped there most days.

There is so much to see in Cusco that you barely have time to scratch the surface decide what you want to see in advance as you will have to leave a lot out.

Have fun. it is a great part of the world.

The bus ride from Puno to Cusco ends around 6pm and I'm sure you will be kind of tired to take another hour and a half to the Sacred Valley. I'd recommend you to spend that night in Cusco city (altitude wouldn't be a problem considering that you will arrive from Puno).

The following day you could go to the Sacred Valley where you will find small towns as Yucay, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, etc.

Ollantaytambo is famous because teh train station is there as Ollantaytambo Fortress.

I do not recommend you to call that place Olly because nobody in Peru call it like this. I know that say Ollantaytambo is kind of difficult but you could say Sacred Valley and everybody will understand you.

Chincheros market is great but you have to go on Sunday. I'd recommend you to try to go on Sunday to Chincheros market first and then to Pisac Market. I can assure you that you will love them!

It's possible to change dates of the bus and train tickets but most of the time there's a penalty (no more than US$10).

A day in the Sacred Valley just to relax would be great! Cusco has great attractions so two or three full days there are perfect! You will find musuems, archeological sites, great restaurants (Peruvian food is really good...highly recommended), etc.

I'm sure you will have an amazing time here!!!

Thanks for the replies and for the good advice. If we were to go Ollantaytambo to Pisac and then Chinchero - could it be done by collectivo or do we need to hire a driver and have him wait. Is this possible to do even with a visit to the Pisac ruins.
We can't wait for this trip - just 4 more months!!

I would probaby hire the taxi at a minimum Olly to Chinchero to Pisac market. Then you could go back by bus/combi combination.

That is a very long day.

Btw there is no 's' in Chinchero. And yes Olly is just used by the tourists here on the forums.

Is Ollanta a short form used in the SV?

"Olly" was used extensively by the Peruvians I met and worked with in the town. My use is down to laziness in typing nothing else. Whether this was down to the tourists I know not. I do not recall it being referred to as "Ollanta" by anyone. If you referred to it as "The Sacred Valley" as Susana suggests, i doubt anyone would have a clue as to where you were referring.

Maybe Ollantay?? That is interesting that locals also call it Olly. Is that just in Urubamba or elsewhere.

Yes Sacred Valley is far too broad a term, in terms of if you say "take me to the Sacred Valley" who knows where you would wind up.

I'm not sure if Pisac is considered part of the SV. There is another word for the valley that continues onward from Pisac in the the opposite direction from Urubamba.

Wow - next thing you know, we'll have people here correcting umlauts.

I use Ollanta all the time. No idea why. Possibly my own personal abbreviation. One of my favorite places ever.

To answer the OP's question, the itinerary seems a bit rushed, and I do not think you have nearly enough time in Cusco. Or Cuzco. Or Qosco.

On Day 10 you can stay in Cusco and just take a taxi or bus (more fun) to Pisac for the market on Day 11.

Your itinerary is fine

Pisac is worthy of a full day, I would not go on to Cusco that night, really you have enough time there

I enjoyed the rooftop seating at Ulrike's had a late meal and watched the shadows on the ruins

I thought it was good enough to go back for the lunch special the following day.

Some photos of Pisac from last month's trip

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buddysa...7630074643072/

mlgb, Your pictures are great! Love the people shots. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks kmh7. You know, I only took landscape photos until my first trip to Pisac market several years ago. Now I don't even mind the occasional 1 sol donation.