Recommendations for local Peru tour agents
 

Looking for recommendations for a tour agent for 10 day trip to Peru

I've always planned my own trips there, but it's been a while. It's just as easy as booking any US trip.

What services did you need?

In Lima Uber is now an option. In the past I have used taxidatum.com

There was a recent detailed trip planning thread by tom_mn.

I have visited Peru many times and like mlgb, never felt the need to use an agency for anything. It is very easy to almost book everything either online or when you get there. An agent will add little, except cost and perhaps some support if things go awry. flights can be booked direct with airlines, accomodation with booking.com, Expedia etc and Machu Picchu tickets and trains direct with those providers.

You dont mention what your plans are but most itineraries will include a couple of days in Lima, 5-7 days in Cusco and the Sacred Valley and possibly a third location - Amazon/Arequipa/Titicaca (though a third location would make it a bit rushed . Many agents seem hell bent on the latter , packing as much in as possible though IMO this is a mistake as you would inevitably end up spending too large a proportion of your time in transit rather than actually doing and seeing things. If you do use an agent then be firm and dont let them try and rush you around too fast.

Plan so far is:
August 22 SMF-IAH-LIM arrival 2040. (Airport Wyndham.)
August 23 LIM-CUZ 0950-1110 (Palacio del Inka 23-27)
August 24-27 Cusco/ Sacred Valley etc.
August 27: Vistadome train to Aguas Caliente (? Tierra Viva) Machu Pichu Circuit 2B at 1500
August 28: Machu Pichu Circuit 3D Huchuy Picchu at 1000. Train back to Cusco? (same hotel)
August 29:
August 30:
August 31:
September 1 Lima (AC Hotel Marriott)
September 2: LIM -IAH-SMF 2250-1159 September 23

So trying to figure out what to do between the 29th Cusco and Lima. Want to get to Lima either during day the 31st or late the 30th. My friend in Lima says 3 days should be good for Lima. Considered Sanctuary Hotel Machu Pichu but it's $2200 and I need two rooms. Train to Lake Titicaca and fly to Lima? Amazon?

A number of observations which are based on many trips to Peru and I would stress my own personal preferences (which may be entirely different from your own.

Acclimatising to the altitude - if you havent been to altitude before be aware that the altitude of Cusco (3400m) can affect some people quite severely (it did me on my first trip but my wife was unaffected ). For that reason, if you have not already booked MP entrance and train tickets, I would consider switching things around and go to Ollantaytambo straight from Cusco airport and spend your first night there @ 2800m and visit MP the next day. Aguas Calients is even lower at 2040m and MP is 2400. spending a few nights in this epalces will prepare you well for Cusco and Puno which is even higher @ 3800m

Machu Picchu visit. - I prefer to visit as a day trip from Ollantaytambo which is a much, much nicer village than Aguas Calientes which is frankly , uninspiring. If possible I would try and do the two circuits on the one day which would free up time for your other plans. Staying at the Belmond would make this much easier and more time effective but, nice though it is, it is vastly overpriced and not to the same standard east the Belmond properties I have stayed in.

Ollantaytambo/Sacred valley - is well worth you time. It has its own set of ruins and is one of the few Inca Villages still intact. We went for a day and ended up staying a couple of months! The best way of visiting the key sights in the SV is to do a taxi tour on your way to Cusco visiting Moray , Maras and Chnichero will take 4/5 hours. I cover one such trip in the second post in our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/peru/

Cusco - I believe really needs two full days to explore or one very rushed day.

Other locations - Titicaca is probably possible with the itinerary you have but bear in mind that the trains doesnt run every day. An alternative would be one of the tour buses which takes the same time but has the advantages of running every day and being able to stop at places of interest en route.

The best place for the Amazon from Cusco is Puerto Maldonado . Because of the logistic of getting there you really need 4 nights/3 days to make it worth while.

Clearly much depends on your own interests and preferences but with the time you have I would probably spend the whole time in Cusco and the SV and Lima (an oft overlooked city, especially if you are foodies ). Alternatively, I would think about dropping a night at MP and spending 4 in the Amazon. On balance, I think I would skip Titicaca but these are just my subjective views.

FWIW, I felt hard pressed to see what I wanted to see in Lima with 3 full days there. If interested, consult my trip report; the section on Lima begins with post # 67.

Agree with KJA in that there is a lot to see in Lima, an often overlooked city as people head straight off to Cusco and the Sacred Valley. We have spent weeks, if not months in Lima but have had the luxury of long trips around South America. In the context of the time you have for your trip, I think 3 days is about right. One for Miraflores, one for Barranco and another for the Centro Historico. Choose your hotel location in Lima wisely as it can be challenging to navigate around the city.

An understatement, for sure!

Lima Easy was a great resource for my first trips to Lima, although I don't think it is completely current, it is a good place to start.

Check any museums or other sights for open hours. Lima has been through a lot in the past few years, many small museums did not come back after the lockdown and websites are not always current. Tripadvisor is now as good a source as any, since you can see if there are recent reviews. (Just bear in mind that TA owns Viator).

For most visitors the Larco Museum would be a top sight, often they underestimate how much time it deserves.
https://www.museolarco.org/en/

Editorial comment.. I don't always think that travel agents or former Lima residents (or even current ones) have a good handle on what is worth seeing for a first time visitor.

https://www.limaeasy.com/lima-guide/lima-culture-guide

We were unable to get a full day at MP as tickets did not work out.
Itinerary now at:
Cusco 23-25
Sacred Valley 25-26
Aquas Caliente 27 with Circuit 2B MP in afternoon and 3C next morning
Sacred Valley 28
29: considering flying to Arequipa and doing all day tour of Coclo valley 0300-1730 fly to lima evening (or bus to lake Titicaca and fly Lima)
30-2 Lima

The two full days in Cusco at the beginning will be enough to enjoy the main sites on Bolleto Touristico, the markets and indeed, just wander the streets of San Blas and around the Plaza. A great city in which to just wander and the food is amazing.

My concern with staying in Cusco at the beginning is the altitude. My first time there I was badly affected. Fortunately my hotel had oxygen so that was enough to avoid the need for a visit to hospital. My wife , by contrast barely noticed it! You wont know until you get there. Check out the US CDC or UK NHS websites for full info. You may want to consult your GP as to whether a prescription for Acetazolamide which can help a lot, is suitable. NB it can be purchased in farmacias in Lima very cheaply.

I would take the taxi tour I described above on you way to Ollantaytambo visiting Chichero, Moray and Maras. Should take 5/6 hours. Use your time in Ollantaytambo to explore the village and ruins , best at either end of the day when it is much quieter. Alternatively, if you want 5* hotels , you will find those around Urumbamba 15 mins drive away (easy to get a taxi or collectivo between the two (collectivos are much more fun!)

I think you will already have had enough time to explore the Sacred Valley so I would think again about staying there on the 28th. Perhaps take at taxi tour back to Cusco, this time via Pisac (another amazing site) and Sacsayhuaman before spending the night in Cusco.

Arequipa is wonderful and one of my favourite cities in South America but it would be an incredibly tiring end to your trip to fly there, take a long and very early trip to Colca Canyon (you wont see the best of it on a day trip) and you would miss Arequipa. If you want to go there I would just go for the city (worth it for Monasteria de Santa Catalina alone imo)

Both Arequipa and Titicaca really need 2 nights just because of the travel logistics. Titicaca is a 6 hour direct bus ride from Cusco or a 10 hour tour bus which stops along the way (worth if the timings work for you)

I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand your plans (laying them out by days, rather than nights, never makes things clear to me), but FWIW:

Like crellston, I would be concerned about your acclimitization to altitude. When I reached Cusco, I'd already been to several higher elevations, and was nonetheless nearly immobilized. I didn't suffer altitude sickness (thank goodness), but I was so weary that even the prospect of climbing a set of stairs was enough to make me cry.

And like crellston, I don't understand what you hope to accomplish by going to Arequipa with so little time to see it or to use it as a base for a tour that really requires an overnight in the Colca Canyon.

I'm sorry if these comments seem harsh....

Here's a link to my TR. I visited all the places you are contemplating, so even a quick skim might prove useful:
https://www.fodors.com/community/sou...untry-1655521/

Thank you all! It's been a busy year so far. Did the Cotswolds and Rhodes in April. Philadelphia in May. Peru in August as above in planning. Chicago in October. London in planning for end of November coupled with some Christmas markets in Germany. That will be easy. Galapagos possibly in February? Also trying to do a round the world business series of flights to go to New Zealand and Hokkaido within the year as well. Its too bad I still work.

I'm not sure what your point is.

But then, I have never "done" any place. I've been privileged to explore several parts of our world. I don't consider it an accomplishment to flit here and there -- my interest in travel involves actually taking the time to see and experience the things that make a place unique or special. Obviously, your approach differs.

I concur that staying in Cusco from the beginning is a bad plan. Actually overall a bad plan in my experience with multiple trips to Peru. You really haven't allowed enough time for more than the Sacred Valley/ Cusco/ Macchu PIcchu and Lima.

So many tourists think that they have to stay in Cusco to "acclimate" for Machu Picchu. This is only necessary if you are planning to hike the Inca Trail, which obviously you are not doing.

I would go 23-24-25 Ollantaytambo or Urubamba (three nights). Don't do much on the 23rd but rest. Next day see the ruins at Ollantaytambo, also walk up to the old town. Take it easy to help acclimate. You could do some tours on the 25th if you wanted.

26 train to Aguas Calientes (from Ollantaytambo). Can do an afternoon in MP. Night in Aguas Calientes.

27 Machu Picchu day, return to Ollantaytambo or Urubamba by train, overnight there.

28 Taxi tour back to Cusco, stops at Moray/Salineras/Chinchero,etc if not previously seen. Sleep in Cusco (three or four nights)

28-30 Cusco. Two or three full days including a day for Pisac where you can taxi up and walk a part of an Inca Trail back down into town. You could optionally see Pisac from Urubamba or Ollantaytambo. With three full days you can visiting Sacsayhuaman or the other minor ruins nearby.

31 AM you have time to see a Cusco city sight, such as the Cathedral, the airport is only 15 minute taxi ride.

Fly to Lima, two nights (31, 1) Lima (Barranco /Miraflores/San Isidro Neighborhoods). Don't miss sights include the Larco Museum and downtown Plaza sights.

9/2 you leave luggage at desk and check out. See Lima returning to hotel about 6pm to take a taxi to the airport.You don't need to stay at the airport for a midnight flight.

If your goal is just to "tick" Machu Picchu you don't even need to spend 10 days. Some people do it in 3 or 4 as a cruise ship excursion!!

Many do not realize just how large Peru is, anything involving overland travel takes time especialy with those pesky Andes in the way.

If you want to compress the above itinerary and "tick" another sight, some people go to Nazca on a tour from Lima. Alternatively many with no interest in slow travel combine Machu Picchu and the Galapagos.

https://newperuvian.com/how-big-is-p...20nine%20times.

I have limited exposure to high altitudes but had little problems with Aspen or Pikes peak or Salinas Grandes although I was not doing anything physically demanding. I had no problems climbing Mt Fuji but got quite ill coming back down the mountain at a very fast clip. I think to be safe going to the Sacred Valley first makes sense. My daughter has decided to join us and other than Salinas Grande she has little exposure to high altitudes. We have also decided to limit our trip to Cusco, Sacred Valley, MP and Lima.
So now we are considering Sonesta Urubamba
for 23-24-25, Move to Sonesta Cusco 26. Leave most of our luggage at the Sonesta on the 27th
and take a taxi to Ollantaytambo for the Vistadome train to AC / hotel Tierra Viva and MP circuit 2A at 3pm. On the 28th do MP 3C circuit at 10am then make our way back to the Sonesta Cusco. Cusco 29th. Leave for Lima on the 30th. Lima 31st-1st and leave for home 2215 in the 2nd.

Better to do Machu Picchu from Urubamba if you don't want to stay in Ollantaytambo.

It's 30 minutes Urubamba to Ollanta and 1 hour from Cusco. Might want to look at a map if you haven't already.

Is it too late to change your tickets for MP? Would make more sense to move them up. If it is not possible or you just don't want to, I would stay in Urubamba on the 26th, they should hold your luggage until you return. Pickup the luggage on the way to Cusco from the 28th onward.

You can see some of the sights such as Pisac from Urubamba also. I would consider also spending the night of the 26th in Ollantayambo. Gives you the morning or late afternoon to visit Olantaytambo Ruins when it's less crowded. There is a simple but adequate lodging right by the train station, as well as a few others on the entrance road.

If you are up for it, a visit to the Sunday Pisac market on the 24th, best to go early. More interesting for the locals who come into town from surrounding villages. Ask if there is still the "Horno Colonial", not sure if it still is open post-COVID (more to see the oven than to eat there).

Urubamba also has market days (for produce type market with all of the potatoes). May work out just as well. Probably less full of tourists. You can buy souvenirs in Cusco, Aguas Calientes, etc.. For authentic weavings I would go to one of the weaving centers or the museum in Cusco. I would be skeptical of anything offered in the tourist markets now.

https://www.textilescusco.org/contact#contact-mapas

We have modified our itinerary bit with a move to the El Albergue Ollantaytambo on the 26th which will make it a little easier to take the train to AC-MP. We can store our luggage there for pickup on our way to Cusco on the 28th. Flight to Lima on the 30th AC hotel Miraflores. Now getting to daily plans. Any recommendation as to whether to go to the Chinchero market or Pisac market on Sunday?

The second post in our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/peru/ covers a tour of the Sacred Valley and included a visit to Chinchero market. there are also some posts about Pisac further on in the Peru section.

If it works with your Itinerary, I would highly recommend a tour of the SV between Ollantaytambo and Cusco covering Moray , Maras and Chinchero. Sunday is the busiest days for both markets but they also operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Both markets are great though I prefer Chinchero which is smaller and arguably less touristy. The church on the plaza is amazing as are the views towards the valley and mountains. Pisac of course has its own spectacular ruins in addition to the market though, IMO is better visited from Cusco.

I'd wait to see how you are adjusting to altitude before deciding to go to Chinchero on your first (and only) Sunday. It's at about 12,400 feet in altitude (roughly). I'd think Pisac would be safer (elevation 9700 in town, just under 11,000 at the ruins). I've stayed my first night in Pisac and was relatively okay, although I did take a taxi up to the top rather than hiking. You can visit Chinchero on your way back to Cusco, there is a weaving center there.

Google says the Urubamba expanded market days are Weds, Friday, Sunday. Maybe your hotel reception can advise. Note there is also an interesting enclosed market in Cusco, and there is a tourist trinket market at the Aguas Calientes train station.

Anyone have any opinions on LATAM vs Sky vs Jetsmart?

For which route?

I have flown with Latam several times and Sky a couple of times. Both were fine as ffar as service and reliability is concerned. Latam is clearly a full service airline and Sky a budget airline both were fine for me as . I dont know about Jetsmart.

One factor to consider is that Cusco is a high altitude airport and delays and cancellations due to adverse weather are not uncommon (more likely with afternoon flights apparently). Latam operate a more modern fleet than some airlines which is better able to cope with the weather. They also run way more flights than other airlines so if there is a problem with one , they willl usually put you on the next available. Indeed, when I have arrived early in Lima and Cusco airports they have asked if I wanted to go on an earlier flight.

PS you can sometimes find cheaper fares on the Peruvian or Spanish Latam websites than the US or UK sites

Thank you. My partner is fluent in Spanish so I will put her on it.

Looking to fine tune itinerary. Found trains from Poroy/Cusco to Aguas Caliente so do not need to take train from Ollantaytambo.
Option 1:
8/23: fly to Cusco, taxi to Urubamba Sonesta. Get a Boleto Turistico. Explore Urubamaba possibly market?
8/24: Taxi tour to Moray, Salinas and Chinchero. Weaving market
8/25: Pisac market (Sunday)
8/26: Move to El Albergue hotel in Ollantatambo, explore town and hike part of Inca trail.
8/27: train to Aguas Caliente, Hotel Tierra Viva. Circuit 2B Machu Pichu at 1500
8/28: 1000 Circuit 3C MP. Afternoon train to Olly, pick up luggage at El Abbergue and taxi to Sonesta hotel Cusco
8/29: Cusco
8/30 Cusco during day than late afternoon flight to Lima.
Option 2:
8/23: Fly to Cusco, same as option 1
8/24: Ollantambo
8/25: taxi tour of Moray, Salinas and Chinchero Weaving market (Sunday)
8/26: Taxi to Pisac than go to Cusco stopping in Tambomachay, Q'enqo and Pukara on the way. Stay in Cusco Sonesta
8/27: Leave luggage at hotel and train from Poroy to Aguas Caliente and MP etc
8/28: 1000 Circuit 3C MP, afternoon train back to Cusco Sonesta
8/29: Cusco
8/30 Cusco than late afternoon flight to Lima.

Decided on Latam as have flown them before several times in Chile. No better fares on Peru sites.

For some reason the reply I posted a few days ago seems not to have appeared!

Either would work though I think I would probably choose option two. As I may have mentioned previously , I would much prefer to stay in Ollantaytambo over Urumbamba. We know both quite well as we stayed for a few months in the Sacred Valley whilst doing some voluntary work so know both very well. Urumbamba is just a working town with little to interest the average tourist. The market is where we used to shop for food and I suppose is interesting. enough as a non tourist market ( the variety of different potatoes is truly amazing!). The main reason for staying there is the range of upmarket accommodation which is lacking in Ollantaytambo. Though it does have some very nice mid range places these days. By contrast , Ollantaytambo is incredibly pretty and is one of the few intact Inca villages remaining. The ruins are the best and it is great just to wander the village. Staying there means you can explore before and after the tour buses have been and gone.

Arrived Lima last night via United. Spent night at the Wyndham hotel across the street from the terminal. Surprisingly mediocre and expensive at $200/night. Other airport hotels such as Hilton T2 LHR, Sheraton AMS, Sheraton MXP are priced in the same range and are much nicer. Made it to the domestic terminal Lima 0640 this morning. Went to a machine to get our luggage tag but it was not working so had to wait for another machine. Got tags on luggage then onto another line to another machine which again did not work so to another line to see a person to check our bags and get our boarding passes. Security thankfully was nothing different than at most airports. Got to the gate15 minutes late but the flight was 45 minutes late. Premium economy on Latam isn’t bad as they block the center seat. Flight to Cusco otherwise smooth. Our prearranged taxi picked us up and we were away for an hour drive to the Sonesta hotel in Yucay.
pleasant hotel with large decent rooms with balcony. Good 4 star quality at $200/night. Not much around hotel. Had a decent lunch at the hotel than took a $ 20 taxi to Ollantaytambo
where we wandered around the center of the town for a bit than got our130 soles tourist ticket
(cash only) for tomorrow when we return for the ruins. Taxied back to Sonesta for dinner and bed.
Tired maybe in part to the Diamox we are talking to help prevent altitude problems. Was a-little dizzy after arriving Cusco but feel decent now.
Ready for our Peru adventure.

Looking forward to reading more about your travels..

I’m feeling decent today. O2 sat resting 94%. Taking deep breathes brings it up to 100%
As an addendum for yesterday it turns out there is a special booth at the Lima airport for those ticketed to premium economy so you don’t have to go the many steps to check in. Similar to those of us with good status on an airline. Will use this on returning to Lima.
Had a nice breakfast at the Sonesta. Picked up by Miguel of Exclusive Inka Tours ($300 for 3 of us) who drove us to an ATM where we took out 400 soles with a fee of 58 soles. I then used the second machine that only charged 18 which is still rather high. We then drove to Ollantaytambo ruins where we took at tour up the mountain. Interesting site. The story about the food storage buildings high up above on the mountain opposite the ruins was fascinating. A bit demanding to walk up to the top. I’m in decent shape as I walk 4 miles a day and swim 1000 yards 5 days a week but walking up a steep mountain at 9000 feet was not a walk in the park. We had wandered the town a bit yesterday. The town itself was quite touristy centrally. Was intrigued by an offer for a $30 hour deep tissue massage but settled for a cup of coca tea which was quite vile and only made drinkable with the use of significant amounts of sugar.
After the Olly ruins, we were then off to Moray to visit the circular ruins which were purportedly for agricultural experimentation. Lots of sunshine and wind. Recommend a hat plus sunglasses and sunscreen. Also recommend good hiking shoes not regular street shoes or athletic shoes.
Next we were off to the salt farms of Maras where a natural spring with briny water provides the source for salt to be farmed. 20 Soles per person entrance fee.you look down at the salt flats but can’t enter them, which was a disappointment to my partner who had been there 13 years ago with her sons and they were able to walk well into the salt field, stepping on the edge of the flats. With more tourism come more restrictions, understandably, but still too bad.
We left Maras and stopped by a nearby restaurant for lunch. Lots of llamas wandering about. I had a nice bowl of pumpkin soup for 35 soles and my partner trout ceviche appetizer for the same price. My daughter had tenderloin for 79 soles. Nice restaurant and the food was good. Touristy for sure and more expensive but prices lower than the US. Many of the other customers, who all seemed to speak Spanish, were feeding the llamas with fresh corn husks.
Last destination of the day was Chinchero to see those ruins and visit some of the weaving cooperatives. Bought some baby alpaca sweaters for about $100 US.
Returned to our hotel where we had a light dinner at the cafe. Had a huge club sandwich that was twice as big as I expected with 3 times as many fries as I expected for 35S and I ate about half. My partner had a nice bowl of carrot soup for a similar price and my daughter had an apple crepe with vanilla ice cream for about 20 soles.
A good day overall and exhausting. 11,000 steps and 27 flights of stairs climbed.

Nice live report! I will there in late September. I will be following along your trip. Thanks.

Another day which was warm and sunny. Definitely short sleeve weather. Hired a taxi
(100 soles) to go to the Pisac market which was about a 50 minute drive. Wandered around the market and bough a few embroidered T-shirts for about 25S each. Both my partner and my daughter each bought another baby alpaca sweater from a store called Factory Pata (380S) this was connected to another store where we bought a couple silver and coral rings. We then
stopped at a cafe called Valentina for drinks and a rest.
Found a taxi to take us to the top of the Pisac inka ruins (40S). (11,200feet) We explored the top of the ruins and got lost trying to find one route down to Pisac, as the main route was closed due to danger of a rockslide. In retrospect we should have hired a guide at the entrance. In the end we managed to hike down the mountain in 2 hours. Trail was a bit demanding with lots of high steps and irregular rocks and loose gravel. Recommend you bring a hat that you can tie under your chin as there was lots of wind. Taxi back to the Sonesta hotel at 1630. Arranged for one hour deep tissue massages in our room for 150S ($40). Decent massage although not up to Thailand or Japan or Vietnam for that matter. Felt good though.

Left Yucay Sonesta. Nice hotel. We had a large clean room with nice balcony. Refrigerator, safe, decent shower but no bathtub. Two decent restaurants and a cafe on site. Prices reasonable by US standards. There is also a cafe nearby which is in the Sonesta building but not run by Sonesta that does laundry for 4.5 S per Kilo. Unfortunately not open on Sunday with times we could have used. There is not much in Yucay which turned out to be ok as we were too tired to go out at night. We were going to stay at Tambo del Inka nearby but when my daughter decided to join us we downsized to the Sonesta as $400 a night vs $1200 a night for two rooms was a deciding factor.
More adventurous people could stay at the Skylodge which requires climbing up ropes for and hour and a half to reach the hotel.
It also seems that starting in the Sacred valley
vs Cusco was a good idea for two reasons. First, from a high altitude adaptation situation, Yucay is about 9000 feet and Cusco is about 11000 feet. We took acetazolamide 125 2/day until last night and did well. We of course might have done well without the medication but wanted to make sure.
I have been at altitude at the Salt flats in northwest Argentina and Aspen and Pikes Peak and Mt Fuji and did ok except when I came down Mt Fuji really fast. Better safe than sorry. The next reason best to start in S Valley is so we could reach many of the tourist sites before all the buses arrived from Cusco. Now taking taxi with Taxidatum, which was a great suggestion of Crelleston. They have been reliable, reasonably priced and easy to contact by internet. Very responsive. We have now used them twice and have them lined up for two more trips. Off to start exploring Cusco; more later.

Taxi (from Tacidatum) to Cusco was by the way of a few other Inka ruins—Tambomachay, Q’engo, and Pukapukara. Arrived Sonesta Cusco around noon. Standard double small, maybe 200 sq feet. Very 3 star like hotel. No way this is a Booking 9.1. I think the Peninsula Chicago I stayed at last year was a 9.1 and this hotel is not anywhere in the same universe. Took a taxi downtown for lunch at Kintaro to try Nikkei food. Turned out to be a Peruvian version of Japanese food similar in a way Japanese food is Americanized in the US. Had better sushi at 7-11s in Japan. Wandered around the city afterwards with a stop at the Inka Museum, which was interesting. Returned to hotel to get ready for train tomorrow to MP.

Enjoying your live report.

Awoke 0545 for a 0630 check out. Took 10 minutes to get a taxi (10S) and 10 minutes drive to San Pedro train station for 0700 arrival for Railperu Vistadome train to MP that departed 0730. Few people got on the train here. Half the train filled up at Poroy station about an hour later. Train configuration 4 seats /side around a table.
Drinks of water/tea and snacks of quinoa bars, chocolates and quinoa chips served. Our cabin allowed to go to the last cabin/ bar for about 20 minutes. Pretty decent band playing what I assume are some Latin favorites. Best music I have heard since arriving Peru. (my musical tastes however are odd according to my daughters so take this with a grain of salt) Arrived Ollantaytambo at 2 1/2 hours. The drive takes about half the time and scenery similar. The rest of the cabin filled up here. Most tourists we have been seeing here are Spanish speaking. The train ride towards MP much more scenic.

Arrived Aguas Caliente. Bellboy at exit of train station who took our bags to Hotel Tierra Viva. Nice hotel about 100 yards down from the train station next to River. We upgraded to a superior room which was about $40 more for a total of about $240 a night. Nice view of the river and jr suite style with separate sitting room, refrigerator and shower. Bed seems so larger than a queen but short like everything in this country. I’m 6’0
(183) and my head is up near the headboard. Taxis here are also Toyota Corolla size or smaller so fitting in requires adjusting the front seat and hoping whoever is behind me is ok. Now waiting for our guide for MP to pick us up.

Aguas Calientes is only at about 6700 feet and my resting O2 sat is 99 instead of 94 in Cusco. Overcast skies and 68F. Put on insect repellent as the area is rather sub tropical and the mosquitoes are really out due to the farmers burning stuff. Apparently the mosses are worse at around 1100.
Our guide picked us up at our hotel at 1400 and we walked up the road to stand in line for a bus for 1500 admission. Line was about 100 yards long and they checked your passport and your bus ticket. The bus ticket was rechecked just before boarding the bus. Bus took about 25 minutes to reach MP at 7900 feet. Our MP ticket, which apparently has to be on your phone, was then scanned at the entrance and matched to your passport. The next two hours were consumed by our guide taking us through Circuit 2. It was quite a marvelous spectacle. 30 floors of steps. We left at 1700 on return bus with ticket but no passport required. Had dinner a short distance from our hotel. Have been eating much less than normal due I think to a combination of Acetazolamide (now stopped), high altitude and exhaustion. I will be unhappy if I have not lost a few pounds on this trip. Now to bed to awaken early as our reservation at MP for Circuit 3 and Huchey Piccu is at 1000 and our guide told us to be in line for the bus by 0830.

Awoke 0730. Easy to pack as we left most of our luggage at our Cusco hotel and were only allowed carryon size for the train to MP. There were however people with large pieces of baggage so there must be a way to pay to bring more luggage. Hotel is more like 150-200 yards than 100 yards from train station. Got to 10am bus waiting line and we are at least 60 yards back so guess we are not that early. Weather blue sky 60 degrees.

I believe there is a separate luggage cart that runs daily between Ollantaytambo and Macchu Picchu (only). I think with your (strange) plan to backtrack to Cusco and take the longer train ride that option was not available.

Did Circuit 3 MP yesterday with Huchuy climb. The climb is steep and in some places narrow. It’s not long but steep. I found it rather demanding but I would have found it easy in my 50s. Long line of people waiting for bus to return to Aguas Caliente, maybe 200 yards long which made it about a 40 minute wait for the 25 min bus ride down.
Retrieved our luggage from our hotel which I would rate a 3+ star and walked up to the train station to take the 1455 Vistadome train to Olly where our Taxidatum car and driver picked us up for the drive to Cusco. Arrived Cusco about 1900.
Interesting to note while driving the number of partially built buildings and homes. Something I have seen before in Latin America and even places like Rhodes. Must be a financial reason for this. Also noting bars on all lower windows but no glass shards on the fences that you see in some other countries.
Back at Sonesta Cusco where we get our luggage out of storage and check in. This time we have an executive corner room which is like large jr suite with large bathroom with separate shower bath and toilet. This is closer to a 4 star hotel while the standard rooms are clearly 3 star class. Had dinner at hotel which was pretty mediocre. I had the grilled Alpaca which was overcooked as were the fried potatoes. The corn and cheese was bland. My partner had cuy which was rather nondescript. My daughter had a dry grilled chicken breast. Bed early.