Peru

[tinaja]

Anyone have any personal experience with Peru/Cusco/Macchu Piccu (sp)?

I'm thinking July. Solo. Unless I can get my friends to quit talking and book.

[sophie]

I went with an Aussie company (peregrine) who hires excellent local guides.. Would have no hesitation recommending them, but I have friends who went solo, and it worked for them. For myself and my friend, we went with a company for time and smoothness issues as we had limited time in South America. We did Ecuador by ourselves, Peru and Bolivia with a very small tour group. At this point, unless you go with a group, you might have difficulties getting the hiking permit for the days you want to do the inca trail.

[lillielangtry]

I've been, didn't do the Inca Trail though, just took the train to Macchu Picchu. I was by myself. I organised everything independently when I got there, but I had plenty of time on my hands.

[tinaja]

I'm taking the train too. Can't say I'm in the right kind of shape to hike the trail. The thoughts of narrow paths/heights makes my knees shake sitting down. Seems pretty straightforward to organize. When I get there if there are things I want to see that are difficult to organize there's usually a tour. I'm going to try to take the train from Cusco to Puno too. That is going to up my transportation budget tho.

[lillielangtry]

Just make sure you acclimatise properly in Cusco and don't expect to be racing around the day you arrive. I was so out of breath there, it took me by surprise since I spent a long time in Ecuador and didn't have the same issue - but that was probably because living in Quito already gave me a base of acclimatisation.

MP was still stunning without the trail.

Peru as a whole is well equipped for tourists and the major sites are very well established. A bit of Spanish helps a lot though, and don't be deceived by distances which look fairly short on the map - buses can be very slow.

[tinaja]

I had a bad headache in Otavalo Ecuador for a couple of days. Flew into Quito and had to go directly there. The next day was up higher in the mountains. Not sure if stress can affect your acclimatization but I was under some getting set up with the project I was on, overweight, and didn't take care of myself like I should have. Things were just moving too fast. Ugh. It sucked.

I know some Spanish and can put together the words to get what I need. Usually lol.

[lillielangtry]

If you have time, one option is a couple of days in the Sacred Valley - Urubamba, Ollantaytambo - which is lower than Cusco. Mind you, so is MP. I really liked the Sacred Valley, but then, Cusco has the city things if you need to take it easy there for a day or two as well.

[tinaja]

How much time do I need at MP itself? I saw in one of my books that Agua Calientes is now called MP Pueblo. In light of the Sacred Valley things, I might not go to Puno afterall. I only have a week.

[lillielangtry]

You only need one day for the site itself, IMHO. There is nothing much in Aguas Calientes/MP Pueblo except the hot springs, which were ok when I was there. Prices are also considerably higher than elsewhere due to its inaccessibility and the fact that tourists have nowhere else to go. I can’t remember the train times so I don’t recall what time you need to get in/out of the town. I think a week sounds doable for Cusco, MP and surrounding area. Personally I wouldn’t do much more, but I am a slow traveler, others would probably see it differently.

[tinaja]

I like to soak up the local culture vs. in-out-and-got-the-tee-shirt. After posting I looked at the Perurail site and saw that those Sacred Valley towns are on the line too. I'm so excited, now if I can get get a boarding spot for my dog, I'm good. That's harder than human reservations.

[portreeslim]

If you still want to go to Puno, check out flights from Cusco. It cost me about the same as the train and was much faster, if you're short of time. Sacred Valley things, which can be booked as tours from Cusco, were well worth it.

[lillielangtry]

Urubamba and Ollantaytambo are also easily accessible using local buses from Cusco. Ollantaytambo is more geared up for tourists, while I almost preferred Urubamba. It was a nice, peaceful little town in a beautiful setting.

[tinaja]

Woo hoo its time to start putting my packing together!! My plan is to go light light light. Hold me to that eh?