Now I am thinking of making Arequipa my first city and taking a day to see Colca Canyon. But just to make sure of something, isn't the canyon just as much out of the way just for a short viewing from a mirador as the Nazca Lines are out of the way just for a 30 minute overflight?

For comparison, in New York State, I went to Whirlpool state park, close to Niagra Falls. I walked on a trail that led from the top of the gorge down to the bottom of the gorge. It was supposed to be 1/4 mile of stairs, and then some unknown distance to a flat area where people were viewing the rapids, where I sat for 20 minutes and then hiked back. I managed ok but that is about the maximum amount of hiking I would want to do in a day; maybe I could do more after a good amount of sitting; I am in average to good health; I am not hardcore about treking but I am not super lazy either; I am not going to risk hurting myself going up or down a path that is too steep that doesn't have stairs.

One guidebook mentions a "Colcas de Chichinia Trek, 2 hour walk from the village of Corporaque...". Otherwise I haven't seen any advice for walking past some canyon scenery that would be less than the super hard core all day hiking guided tours but a little more physical activity that just being whisked around in a tour bus.

Nasca is 7-1/2 hours from Lima then about 10 hours to Arequipa so no, it is more out of the way than Colca. There are various private tour bus running Arequipa>>Colca area>>Puno that make it less out of the way. Lodges in Colca can hook you up. These come with a private tour guide who likely will know which Colca lookouts have been seeing the most condors.

I do not recommend a day trip from Arequipa, it’s a long way. Frankly don’t recommend a long hike either, it’s very high elevation and didn’t look like scenery improved with hiking into the canyon (but didn’t do it).

Yes, most visitors skip most of the museums in Lima. Most are time restricted (as are you) and need to prioritise the locations and sites they want to visit. Most visitors will spend 2-3 weeks in Peru and will view Lima simply as a waypoint on the way to somewhere else. Most will spend no more than 2-3 nights ( 1-2 days) there an incorporate whichever museums or sites they want into those days. Your original plan to spend 6/7 nights in Lima is a disproportionate allocatIon of the time you have available. Some museums will be great, most are average. If you choose to spend that amount of time there then fine, that’s your choice, but you will be short changing the rest of the country.

Like tom_mn, I would not recommend a day trip to Colca Canyon.. yes it is easily and cheaply arrange with any number of operators around the plaza in Arequipa. Most are on large tour buses and are strictly controlled itineraries. I could be wrong but I very much doubt you would have the time for even a 2 hour hike. It is at least two hours each way and tours start early at around 4-5 am.

if you want to include Colca you really need to allocate one, preferably two nights in a lodge in the canyon. Given the time you have, I would skip it.

I had the luxury of a longer trip and I am someone who can happily spend days on end in museums. I thought a few museums in Lima exceptional and am very glad to have visited them. That said, I believe I read that some have not re-opened after COVID, so I urge you to do some research before finalizing your plan.

With a country that offers as much as Peru, it can be difficult to decide what to skip!

FWIW, I’m also glad to have visited the Colca Canyon, but agree that it would not be a good day trip.

I believe the OP, like kja and me, is a museum lover (I call myself a "museum whore").

But I agree that more research is needed as many guidebooks and websites are out of date. OP will need to negotiate admission fees, often in local currency. And perhaps become more adept at using Uber and an overseas cellphone.

My favorite museums in Lima and surrounds are the Larco, the Amano, MALI (depending on special exhibit), Pedro de Osma, and I think the OP would want to go to the Inquistion Museum.
Smaller museums include the Central Bank Museum and Casa O'Higgins.

Sadly, I think MATE is permanently closed. I'm not sure what happened to the Gastronomy Museum in the old Post Office and there were other sites downtown that may not have survived COVID and recent civil unrest.

There is also Huaca Pucllana and the assorted cathedrals and churches around the Plaza de Armas. Some people like the catacombs.

I liked the Magical Water show "Circuito Magico de Agua" but it can be cold and chaotic.

There are also other archaeological sites and museums within a day's or overnight ride from Lima, which are probably more worth the time spent than Nazca, such as the Moche sites and museums near Chiclayo and Lambayeque.

Kja did a great trip report.

I agree that Arequipa is nice and I would fly there if you can afford it, instead of going by bus.

You will never even scratch the surface of what Peru has to offer in just 2 or even 3 weeks.

What a nice compliment, my fellow museum, uh, lover!

Inquistion Museum. THIS APPEARED TO BE CLOSED VERY LONG TERM.


Central Bank Museum. ASKED BUT WAS TOLD OPEN WEDNESDAYS ONLY (?)

Merced church in central Lima only open in the mornings.

What’s missing for Central Lima is a good current walking tour map with hours/days attractions are open. Generally there appears to be no good guidebook for Peru anymore. I used 2 and both lacked the specifics and helpfulness of guidebooks of old, like pre-2010, they almost seemed AI generated. Specifically a Rick Steves style book with walking tour maps and helpful information is not available.

I found the Moon Guide and Lonely Planet far more useful than other guide books for Peru, though it’s been a few years.

Sadly, the old days of useful guidebooks seem to have passed. The English language site Lima Easy is also not reliable, nor is PromPeru/ iPeru.

TripAdvisor is probably a good source, you can see if there are any recent reviews and sometimes there is a link to the website.

That is a shame that Inquistion Museum is gone, I tested on TripAdvisor and the link is dead.

If you stay at a good local lodging such as my favorite "3B Barranco" they often have up to date info.

I had time to read the entire thread tonight. Don't underestimate the "garua" during July. Can be extremely dense fog along the coast although a very strong El Nino may disrupt that (not predicted next year). If you do run in to heavy fog in Lima, I recommend avoiding long distance travel along the coastal highway. I experienced a truly frightening drive up to Caral one trip (although the site is amazing).

You are awesome mlgb! So nice of you to do that. :)

I started rewriting my itinerary. If I include one of the U.S. federal holidays, if I leave on a Friday, taking all 10 paid vacation days, I could make my trip 16 nights. I didn't finish the end of the trip. I tentatively cut my time in Lima down to 4 nights including the night I arrive and leaving on an evening bus but it will suck if I arrive in Nazca before 5am and I don't want to risk being too tired. I didn't finish the end of the itinerary but I am thinking of either adding a 5th night to Lima or adding in Puno by Lake Titicaca before or after Cuzco. I haven't figured out whether in Puno there is a good view of the lake, and Fodors guidebook that I got from the library printed in about 2015 says the port isn't a good place to be after dark. I probably want to skip Colca canyon because its a long bus ride just for one mirador or I don't want to do have pressure to hike uphill too fast on a trail that might be too steep at a high elevation while trying to keep up with a tour guide on the way out of the canyon if I did an overnight hiking guided trip.

Friday: Flights from Detroit to Lima, arriving at 9 to 11pm? Sleep in Lima. 1st night

Saturday: Museo Central (art museum, 9-5), Museo de Arte de Lima (10:30-5pm Sat), grocery store and/or Mercado Municipal Gran Mariscal Ramon and/or Bario Chino?, El Circuito Mágico del Agua (illuminated fountain open every evening, ticket required)? 2nd night

Sunday: Pachacamac Inca site (9-5). 3rd night

Monday: Huaca Pucllana Inca site (9-5, ticket includes required 1-hour guided tour); Museo Oro del Perú y Armas del Mundo (10-5). 4th night

Tuesday: Museo Larco (9-7pm, decorative pots, Moche pots); Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historía del Perú (9-7:30). Bus to Nazca leaving 9:10pm, arriving about 4:53am?? 5th

Wednesday: flight over Nazca Lines. Possibly another tour to nearby sights? Bus to Arequipa leaving at 8:59pm, about 10 hours 15 minutes. 6th night

Thursday: Drop stuff off at hotel in Arequipa; guided or unguided tour, or: Museo Arqueológico UNSA (8:30-1pm or 2-3:30), Museo Santuarios Andinos (Inca mummy, 9-6pm), Casa Tristán del Poso? (9-6), Plaza de Armas, Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa? (until 6pm but ticket sales stop at 5pm). Mirador de Yanahuara, Sleep in Arequipa. 7th night

Friday: Monasterio y Museo de la Recoleta (includes Amazonian artifacts 9-1:30pm or 3-5pm), Museo de Arqueologia de la UCSM (8:30-4), Monasterio de Santa Catalina? (9-5), Sleep in Arequipa. 8th night

Saturday: Flight to Cuzco leaving at 8am?? Drop stuff off at hotel. Guided tour or: Museo Inka (Until 1:45pm Sat, closed sun, 9:14-4pm Mon); Mercado Central (6-6pm, until 4pm Sun), Catedral? (6-8pm); Museo Histórico Regional de Cusco? (8-5), Qorikancha (Inca temple ruins, 8:30-5:30, museum 9-6). Sleep in Cuzco. 9th night

Sunday: Museo Histórico Regional de Cusco? (8-5pm), Museo de Arte Precolombino (8am-10pm), various stuff, other museum is time? 10th night

Monday: Sacsayhuamán area (Saqsaywaman {Inca ruins, 7am-5:30pm}, whatever other adjacent ruins on the Boleto Turístico if time); Planetarium Cuzco (6-8pm)? 11th night

Tuesday: Train or bus to Ollantaytambo (town with Inca fortress). Sleep in Ollantaytambo. 12th night

Wednesday: Train and bus to Machu Picchu (site open 8am-4:15pm) Bus and train back to Cuzco

I think this is the highlight of Arequipa, not a question mark. 4 hours.

Pretty much everyone does this trip by taxi or bus.

Most of the museums in Cusco are small and only a bit interesting, but did miss the Museo Inka because as you noted it is closed Saturday afternoon. The cathedral is rather expensive BTW and on another combination ticket, the religious one not the main one covering ruins and museums.

This a a great deal of running around, I would wear out doing this kind of pace.

I pretty much exp how the above comments.

Monasteria de Santa Catalina is a primary reason for visiting Arequipa rather than a maybe/ afterthought. Arequipa cathedral is magnificent from the outside but the interior is less impressive and wouldn’t figure highly in my plans

I appreciate that I may by some, be considered anti museum, but that is not the case. It is more that some of those museums in Cusco are really not that impressive. The centre of Cusco and Ollantaytambo are effectively "living museums" and are best enjoyed busy simply wandering the streets and alleys? Qoricancha is the exception. If by Central Market in Cusco you mean Mercado San Pedro, then that is a fascinating insight into local life. We spent many happy hours wandering there practicing our Spanish with the help of our tutors. There are also lots of other mercado in the city also worth a look.

Taking the train from Cusco to Ollantaytambo would be an expensive waste. Either take a local collectivo (10 n/s and 2 hours) for the experience or a taxi tour stopping of at some of the key sights of the SV like Chinchero, Moray and Maras. https://taxidatum.com/chincheros-maras-moray-taxi-tour/ $220n/s and 5 hours


Puno is nowhere near as dangerous as it was when I first visited some 15 years ago though you do need to take care around teh bus station and at night. The area around teh cathedral is fine and has some nice restaurants. Views of the lake are best on a boat trip covering Uros and Taquile. Reliable and safe operators include Allways Travel and Edgar Adventures . Alternatively, if your Spanish is good, go to the dock early and arrange a trip with one of the boat captains.

I don’t know whether you have ever been at altitude before but wise advice from Tom above. Trying to run around too much, especially in Cusco and Puno. You really should take it easy for a couple of days on arrival in Cusco as it takes most people that long to get used to the reduced oxygen levels. Slowly does it! It really takes a couple of weeks to become fully acclimatised.

This is a great museum to visit, a highlight, not on the tourist ticket.

Will say that in visiting the Cusco museums included in the tourist ticket, it’s hard to wonder why they didn’t have a native English speaker proofread the printed explanations on the displays. It’s often hard to discern the intended meaning.

Adding a general comment about electrical wall plugs:

I’ve never seen such accommodation to the various international plug types! Typical is a plug that accommodates both the US flat prongs and the European round prongs in the same socket. Usually there will be (in the same room/apartment) another outlet with a German/French Schuko recessed round prong with the grounded connection on the sides. We even stayed in an apartment that provided a third outlet type for 3 round prongs in a row, the Italian style outlet.

Only the Australians and Brits need worry about carrying an adapter.

Regarding a supposed: Train or bus to Ollantaytambo sometime early in the day leaving enough time to see the ruins, Sleep in Ollantaytambo. and the next day, train and bus to Machu Picchu (site open 8am-4:15pm) Bus and train back to Cuzco that evening, you suggest that:

"This a great deal of running around, I would wear out doing this kind of pace."

Are you sure this is too much crammed into too little time? Because you are only supposed spend a maximum of 4 hours inside the Inca site of Machu Picchu and if the ruins at Ollantaytambo are not bigger than at Machu Picchu, nobody would spend more than 4 hours there either. If I could take the train and bus from Ollantaytambo to the ruins of Machu Picchu the same day as my ticket to the site, and see the site, then after the site would my best use of the rest of the afternoon-evening be to sleep in Aguas Calientes (Machupicchu Puebla), take the train to Ollantaytambo and sleep there, or take the train back to Cuzco and sleep in Cusco?

Would you spend 2 nights in Ollantaytambo? I had thought one night would be enough.

Well I spent 4 nights in O. It’s scenic, has good restaurants (no real grocery store though). It would be a full day to see the ruins on both sides of town (main ruins get very busy in the afternoon). At the altitude both ruins are a lung gasping climb. Same for the S ruins above Cusco, it’s hard to breathe and takes a while to check things out.

There are a lot of transitions and passport checks getting to MP. Trains are not board at will, you have to line up and show passport. Trains do not allow baggage so you would have to find a vendor to store it if going on to Cusco. Arriving in MP town you are forced through a multilevel catacomb of shops, then the chaos of the shuttle, different lines in different places for each hour of admittance, and 2 passport checks here, in line and then boarding. Waits can be an hour. Then there’s the passport check entering the site. There can be hour long waits for the shuttle back down. Good luck threading back through the catacombs trying to find the train station entrance. Queue up for the train and passport check again.

It’s an exhausting enterprise to visit MP.

Does this non-detailed summary of an itinerary look too rushed, too lax, or reasonably doable?

If it seems like I am trying to cram in too much, I suspect that in actual practice I would miss whatever I don't easily have time for; I know I need to take breaks from standing or walking every so often but I don't want to waste gobs of time sitting and waiting either.

Does Ollantaytambo have a grocery store that is decent enough? I am afraid eating restaurant food too often isn't healthy.

Would the staff at Machu Picchu let me bring food into the site if I keep it concealed in a bag so I can eat it after I leave the site, or would I be safest just showing up with no food and hoping some restaurant food looks palatable? I rarely eat restaurant food even when I travel. It is all made with oil, salt, and/or sugar. I am not a foodie; I don't require my food to be highly seasoned or flavored. Are fruits like grapes or pears dangerous because they would have to be washed in tap water?

Saturday: flights to Lima. Arrive about 9 to 11pm. Sleep in Lima. 1st night
Sunday: Museum and/or various monuments; grocery store and/or a Mercado Municipal Gran Mariscal Ramon and/or Barrio Chino? Bus to Nazca leaving about 5 to 6pm, arriving about 12:30am. Sleep in Nazca. 2nd night
Monday: flight over the Nazca lines. If extra time, guided tour to other sites. Bus to Arequipa leaving at 8:59pm, about 10 hours 15 minutes. 3rd night on the bus
Tuesday: drop stuff off at hotel. Various museums and monuments. Sleep in Arequipa. 4th night.
Wednesday: Various museums and/or monuments. Sleep in Arequipa. 5th night
Thursday: Plane to Cusco; bus, taxi, or colectivo to Ollantaytambo. If time, ruins. Sleep in Ollantaytambo. 6th night
Friday: Train and bus to Machu Picchu. Bus and train back to Ollantaytambo. Sleep in Ollantaytambo. 7th night
Saturday: El Valle Sagrado guided tour if such a thing exists or unguided taxi tour - various ruins or sites, just sites best seen leaving from Ollantaytambo. Sleep in Ollantaytambo. 8th night
Sunday: Bus, collective, or taxi to Cuzco arriving approximately sometime before noon. Drop stuff off at hotel. Various museum and monuments. Sleep in Cusco. 9th night
Monday: Various museums, Qorikancha (Inca temple ruins). Sleep in Cusco. 10th night
Tuesday: Sacsayhuamán area, whatever other adjacent or nearby ruins on the Boleto Turístico if time. Sleep in Cusco. 11th night
Wednesday: Plane to Lima. Drop stuff off at hotel. Various museum(s). Sleep in Lima. 12th night
Thursday: Day trip to Pachacamac Inca site (9-5)? Or various museums. Sleep in Lima. 13th night
Friday: Various museums and sights. Sleep in Lima. 14th night
Saturday: Various museums. Sleep in Lima. 15th night
Saturday: Flights back to Detroit.