The touristic circuit in Peru – Part 1 (Cuzco and Machu Picchu)

When tourists go to Peru, they usually arrive through Lima and depending on how much time they planned to spend in the country it is common to do the route Lima – Cuzco – Machu Picchu – Puno – Arequipa – Nazca – Ica – Paracas – Lima. The order could be inverted or omit some of these places. This is a huge route, 

that´s why I will spend 2 or 3 posts talking about this.

It is not very common that people who are not backpacking in South America will go to the north of Peru or even the jungle, but in future posts I also have the intention to explore and show how Peru is not only Machu Pichu, Inkas and Ceviche.

Plaza de armas de Cuzco - Main Square

Arriving in Lima, foreigners that come for tourism will either stay in Lima for a few days as they arrive or they will stay at the end of their trip. Either is fine, however if some friend ask me a suggestion, it would be: organize yourself to stay a weekend in Cuzco and one weekend in Lima, especially if you like to explore the nightlife of the place you are visiting. Both cities will have a lot to offer.

So, my advice would be: arrive in Lima and go to Cuzco and Machu Picchu straight away and leave Lima to the end.

In Cuzco, because of the altitude, it is very wise to stay one day resting, maybe a couple of days visiting the city, buying some souvenirs(they have what is probably the best and cheapest souvenirs and handcraft markets in the country) and getting to know the main square, the surrounding areas and museums. Buy the general ticket that allow you the entrance to most touristic attractions.

Salt mines of Maras

Then going on a tour to see the Valle Sagrado(Sacred Valley) is a must. In order to start understanding the “Inka” way of living, their habits and technologies. Visit Ollantaytambo, the Moray complex and the salt mines Maras. Try the chocolate with Mara´s Salt, it might be a weird, but also delighting experience.

Another suggestion is: don´t buy any tour in advance (except for the train and Machu Picchu entrances). It is much better and cheaper to buy these things in locus and if you are in a group don´t hesitate in bargaining. You can get great deals with you have some haggling skills.

After these few days in Cuzco, go down to Aguas Calientes(the town you need to arrive before going to Machu Pichu). There are different ways to arrive in Machu Picchu. Lots of people will go trekking in different routes with touristic agencies. There are different types of routes with different durations. You can choose the one that suits you the most or go like most of the people: by train. You can buy your train tickets in here. To know other possibilities of getting to Aguas Calientes take a look here.

Some people will arrive to Aguas calientes by train in the morning, will go up to Machu Picchu and already come back to Cuzco in the same day. It is alright if you really don´t have any time, however if you can give yourself some time and want to enjoy properly each place, go to Machu Picchu one day and save the next to spend in Machu Pichu.

You can buy your entrances to Machu Picchu in Aguas Calientes, but this is the one thing that I tell people to buy in advance through the website.

You can buy only the visit in the Machu Picchu city or you can combine that with a hike up either one of the mountains: Machu Pichu or Wayna Picchu(Old and young mountains). The latter is very difficult to get tickets, so if you are going to go there this should probably be the first thing you need to do, because they sell out super quickly.

My version of the famous view

If you are going to visit only the archeological site, hire a guide, they will usually have a group. Wanting one just for you is possible, but much more expensive. Don´t forget to bring your passport to get a stamp(I didn´t know that so I didn´t take mine.)

If you are going to visit the mountains, I would suggest you to first, take your time(both are quite difficult if you don´t have very good physical capacities) and when you come back you hire the guide. But hey, do hire the guide! It is much better to understand. If you are curious and interested you might even make a friend, because they love when people ask questions and want to know more about their ancestors.

When I went, I arrived to the bus queue at 4:30 in the morning and it was already huge, but it was worth to see the sunrise in there and I was extremely lucky, because it was sunny, almost no cloud.

After this visit to go somewhere else, first you need to go back to Cuzco and go wherever you want from there. Some people will say that Machu Picchu has some mystical inexplicable atmosphere. I have to be honest that I haven´t felt anything like this. But I was very impressed with the history and the constructions that nowadays would need lots of technology that they don´t have. 

This post is already quite long, so I will stop here and next post I will focus in Puno, Arequipa and Nazca.

Cheers