- Cuzco
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Peru
Great alternative trek to Machu Picchu and it takes in it all. Just book when you get there, you can usually go next day. Oh, and please don't take any notice of the Guardian's advertised £3.95 price (do they earn commision from this agent?). It costs around £120 pounds, all meals included with camping.
Any agent in Plaza de Armas
The classic four-day trek, the Inca Trail, to Machu Picchu now has an adventurous alternative. From Cuzco, I went across the scary Abra Malaga pass by local transport to the attractive warm jungle village of Santa Teresa and visited hot warm springs (very few foreign visitors at the present moment) and stayed with a local family in a rustic adobe lodge where fresh coffee beans were roasted in front of my eyes and papaya picked off the trees for morning breakfast!
The journey from Cusco to the jungle on to Machu Picchu with the local Quechua speaking guide involves one night staying by the hot springs in tents, one night with his family (a great experience!), a horse trek, some trekking and the final descent to Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu. In the morning, rise early before the other travellers and take in this famous lost Inca citadel.
A more varied experience overall, following a different route to the majority of people and great to get to stay with a local family, even for one night!
Santa Teresa is about a fivehour ride from Cuzco. I travelled with the volunteering and alternative adventure travel organisation, Inka Magik, which works with local schools as well as the Cuzco guide and rustic lodge.
It's a different restaurant serving innovative dishes and has a fully functional sports bar on the side with four TVs and every sport you can possibly want to watch.
plateros 334 entrance inside a souvenirs market
The places in your article on Peru are great but the one thing not mentioned is the altitude and the fact if you fly into Cusco and move too fast when you get off the plane you could easily collapse!
If you want to travel to Peru and you do not want to pay for luxury tours, you maybe can try send a request to AndesPeru, it's a company that has many kind of alternatives, working tours with tourist bus services safe and comfortable.
They hace also inexpensive hotels and good rates for domestic flights. My first tour in Peru 3 years ago was under AndesPeru and it was good organized
www.andesperu.com
info@andesperu.com
Call to Peru
phone ++51 1 447-2057
fax ++51 1 445-7874
Actually I'm working at Peru Expeditions 3 years ago It's a tour operator company eith 15 years at the market, it's very serious about travel services, If you like to travel to Peru, I recommend send you a request asking first than book any tour.
Tours, hotels, air tickets for all Peru areas, tailored tours from 2 to 30 days, shared and private, inexpensive or deluxe.
We have available organized tours by tourist bus, airplane or private Toyota's Land Cruiser 4wd to Cuzcu and any other place you request for.
www.peru-expeditions.com
asap@peru-expeditions.com
Calle Colina 151 - Miraflores - Lima
Peru - South Amererica
I recommend taking a pair of flip flops or sandals to wear after your day of trekking - it's far more pleasant than keeping your sweaty boots on! Additionally, take more money than you think you'll need, as there is water and beer to be bought en route, and you'll want to be generous with your tips for the porters and guides.
A small and simple hostel with friendly staff who can't do enough to help you. I ended up being taken into hospital while I was staying here and they were fantastic. Pay 10 s/ extra for a heater if you visit in winter.
montehorebcucso@yahoo.com
084 236775
At that altitude, you may need the local brew, and not Cusquena!
Eating small meals and drinking little alcohol will help too - I learned the latter the hard way.
everywhere
Stay overnight in Aguas Calientes and get the first bus up the mountain in the morning (5.30am). It really is worth being there for sunrise and before the hoards arrive. Fantastic sight. Expect to be wowed and want to stay all day.
Take water with you as they don't stop you taking it in and you will need it up there. The cafe sells water but at vastly hiked costs. Just remember to take your rubbish home with you.
Up a mountain!
Fab food, clean and tasty and excellent pisco sours!
Totally agree with the recommendation for travelling from Celendin to Leyembamba: awesome scenery for those willing to endure the slow, less-travelled road. This part of Peru gets very little traffic compared with the southern areas.
Cuesta San Blas 525, San Blas
Take a taxi up to Tambo Machay and then walk down back to Cuzco through all the ruins to end up by the big statue.
You don't need a guide - it'll take you all day - and there's food stalls on the way. We sheltered from the midday sun in one and drank beer and watched football.
A restaurant in Cuzco offering delicious meals in a relaxed setting.
Cuesta San Blas 571, Cusco, Peru
Simply the best hotel I stayed at in Peru.
At the end of the 3rd day of the Inca Trail, you may find yourself sipping a beer at the only bar on the trail. Should your guide appear and offer to take you to see Winaywayna, a nearby Inca site, make sure you go.
Just 5 minutes from the bar, a tree lined path opens out on a magnificent crescent shaped terrace, with Inca buildings clinging to its steps.
Complex channels, guide water through and around the building. These channels combined practical functionality with religious and spiritual requirements.
The terrace faces Mount Veronica and the view is stunning on a good day.
Few people go to this site, but it is a real shame to miss it.
If you would like to see some pictures, go to webplaza.pt.lu/denniss/globetrotters/entry36-tg.html
Inca Trail
Hare Krishna-run Govinda vegetarian restaurants are found all over Peru.
Vegetarians do not get surprise meat on their plates, and for £1 per set meal, budget travelers will have difficulty finding a cheaper place to fill their tummies.
Lima: Schell 634, Miraflores / Jirón Callao 480, central Lima.
Cuzco: Espaderos 128.
Arequipa: Jerusalen 505
Puno: Deustua 312.
And in other cities in Peru.
Do you remember seeing a green finger-like mountain in the background of most Machu Picchu pictures? The mountain is Huayna Picchu (also called Wayna Picchu) and there are stairs going right to the top of it. If you want an alternative view of the famous Inca site, climbing up is a must.
The climb takes about an hour but the view will stay in your mind for the rest of your life. The Incas built their cities in the shapes of different animals. Look down at the condor shape of Machu Picchu, and don't forget to bring a packed lunch and some water.
Nearest station Aguas Calientes. Stay overnight in Aguas Calientes to allow more time than on an average day-trip from Cuzco.
Pisac is a rural, colonial market village 32km north-east of Cuzco. On Sundays the market fills up with bus-loads of tourists on souvenir shopping day-trips. However, Pisac is worth an overnight stay if you have the time. Arrive early on Saturday and book a room on one of the many small hotels facing the main market square.
Saturday is a quiet time to look through what the market has to offer: weavings, ceramics, paintings, woolen clothing including ponchos, etc.
You can sit back on one of the cafes by the square and watch the locals in their traditional costumes.
In the evening all the stalls are taken apart only to be put up again at dawn.
Make sure to get up early enough to see the spectacle of the square coming back to life. Walk around the impressive Inca ruins of Pisac in the morning to enjoy them before the crowds and to see them bathe in a beautiful orange light.
There are regular buses from Cuzco to Pisac and back. Enquire about times in Cuzco.
One of many companies providing guided tours and equipment for the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. The guides were brilliant - helpful, friendly, knowledgable and introduced us to our porters.
The chef and the food were first class - better than in any resaurant in Peru.
A small number of simple, homely rooms surround a beautiful courtyard in which weary travellers escape from the bustle of Cuzco.
The hostel is impeccably run by the most friendly and welcoming staff who are ready to rustle you up delicious pancakes and coffee.
The Dutch owner set up the B&B as a fundraising venture for the vast amount of street children she now helps. Staff are also on hand to offer hints and tips. Tours of the children’s centre are also recommended to offer you the alternative view of a city which is so dominated by tourism.
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