South America
Flights
flights to Lima around £660+. transfer by land from Lima to Cusco can take 2 nights. roads from Arequipa not paved and dangerous in the rainy season.
Lan Peru (£125+ one way), Taca Peru (£188 return- from kayak), AeroCondor, Wayra, Star Peru ($145 return)
Packing list
- hat
- high SPF sunscreen
- long-sleeved shirts
- medicines: altitude sickness, diarrhea, headaches, allergies
- poncho
- mosquito repellent
Cuzco, Peru
Local customs. You may walk into a jewelry and artisanry shop in Cusco or elsewhere, and see a lovely necklace with a small piece of cloth encased in glass, as a pendant. Be sure to question the shopkeeper or the craftsman about where this textile comes from. How did he acquire it? How old is it? If it’s pre-colonial, chances are he shouldn’t be selling it – although this is so loosely regulated in Peru that many proprietors secretly get away with it. If they see a potential customer whom they think might be interested in such an item, they’ll bring it out from the back of the store where it’s not so obviously on display.
acclimatisation. take coca de mate. pills for altitude sickness will make you more prone to sunburn? take it easy for the first 2-3 days, rest when you feel tired, no over-exertion. headaches, dizziness, uneasy stomach. There’s oxygen available inside a Red Cross room in the airport in Cusco.
taxis. If you take a cab in Cuzco make sure it’s got yellow and black cubes on the side. These cabs have permits. The others don’t and you’ve got a big chance of being robbed. I haven’t had any problems with the yellow and black cubes taxi’s, but if you want to be perfectly safe take the cabs with phone numbers on top of them. You can also write down the numbers of the cab (yellow and black), then you also will be safe.
Boleto Turistico is a ticket that allows you to go to several places within and around the city of Cusco. I believe it is not possible to visit each site individually, rather, this ticket is needed, in which a hole is punched one that site has been visited. With this ticket, you can see most of the sites around Cusco, not including the two churches which are privately owned and which are usually visited in most tourist packages. The ticket is $10 dollars but if you are a student with an international student card it is only $5, if you are under 25.
Plaza de Armas is the heart of Cusco. You´ll certainly walk around it many times while in the city, not only because the Cathedral and the Compañia de Jesus Church are located here (almost next to each other), but also because most of the restaurants, hotels and clubs are here.
Cuzco Cathedral
Sacred Valley/Ollantaytambo. stretches between the villages of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. The ruins include the Temple of the Sun, the Royal Chamber and the Princess’ Baths. Its a bit of a climb up steep steps, and don’t expect to do it alone. When I was there in the late afternoon there was a veritable snake of tourists huffing and puffing up the steps. There is also a craft market at the bottom and cafes for that well earned drink at the end. Taxi from ollantaitambo to cuzco (5 sol)
Pisac. Pisaq is one of several ancient Inca towns with interesting archaeological ruins to explore. It appears to have been an important city to the Incas, who cultivated terraces along the sides of the mountains in order to farm the land. In addition to exploring the ruins, the scenery in this area is breathtaking and absolutely a must-see while in the Cusco area. An easy partial or full day trip, depending on how much time you want to spend here.
Calcas
Salinas
Sacsayhuamàn. It is estimated the complex took 100 years to build, using thousands of men in its construction, the massive blocks of stone fitting together perfectly without the aid of mortar, one weighing over 300 tonnes and standing 16ft (5m) tall. The magnificent centre was the site of the infamous bloody battle between the Spanish and the Inca people in 1536 that left thousands of the native people dead, providing food for the circling condors, and ever since the Cuzco Coat of Arms has featured eight condors in memory of the event.
Qenko
Puca Pucara
Tambo Machai.
no credit cards accepted, so prepared lot of cash. When choosing a hotel, ask if hot water is available and if it is available 24/7.
Food.
ROCOTO RELLENO
This dish is different to dishes from other places. We use big “rocotos” , cut the top and take the seeds out very carefully. Then we have three boils. We fill them with a mixture of grinded meat, peanuts, raisins and green peas. When we have already filled them we overflow them with beaten egg to be then fried into very hot oil. We serve them decorated with roasted potatoes.
PEPIAN WITH RABBIT OR GUINEA PIG (Cuy)
First choose the kind of meat you prefer, pass the animal under boiled hot water and peel it carefully. Then we take the viscera out and cut them into four pieces to be then powered with corn flour before frying them into very hot oil. Into another pot we prepare a dressing of onion, fried garlic and red chilli. We covered the guinea pigs with the dressing and then we add peanuts after seasoning well. We serve rice and boiled potatoes.
KAPCHI
cooked dish soup of chick-peas or mushrooms with potatoes, milk, eggs and cheese.
CHICHARRON WITH MOTE
Pork cooked with its own fat , we serve it with “mote” or corn with the grains beaten.
HUMITAS
Mass of sweet corn wrapped into banana leaves and cooked in steam.
TAMALES
mass of corn filled with meat, wrapped with banana leaves and boiled in steam.
LAWA
soup of fresh corn, chick-peas, yellow peas and huacatay (kind of mint).
ADOBO
pork with “chicha” and other species. Local cook.
OLLUCO WITH MEAT
Cooked dish of ollucos and cecina called llama meat.
TIMPO or PUCHERO
Prepared on Tuesdays during the carnival. We build the chest of a cow, head of lamb, bacon and feet. Then we add entire leaves of cabbage, potatoes, “moraya”, chick-peas and rice. On a separate pot we boil sweet potatoes, peaches, pears and “yucas”. Both things are served separately similar to the “sancochado” but covering the ingredients with a leave of cabbage.
CHUÑO COLA
It is a typical dish eaten any time of the year. We boil meat soup with some sausages, rice, chick-peas and potatoes of regular size. Then we add “chuño” dissolved in cold water and we cook it. Generally, this dish is eaten with a wood large spoon called huislla.
Chicha
is usually made from fermented corn, and it has a yellowish, frothy, bubbly look to it. Very strong stuff.
Pisco
is a native drink, usually found in Peru (and in Chile too). Pisco is made by distilling grapes which can be found in the warm, dry regions of Peru. Watch out – the sugar content is high, which makes for some bad headaches if you overindulge. It’s usually aged for several years in clay containers or oak barrels, and the acohol content is fairly high – 90 proof. “Pisco Sour” is the potent national drink, very tasty!
Aguas Calientes, Peru
thermal baths.
Machu Picchu
www.machupicchuperu.net/modules/news/
recommended times. The recommended time by most experts is mid-April to May, or September to october, to avoid the rainy season and the tourist crowds. June to August are the most popular times to visit, however they are also cold times. June is popular due to that famous and dramatic Inca cultural parade and show in Cusco.
backpacker train vs. Vistadome train from Cusco. backpacker train is usually full, but have tables with group seating. more relaxed atmostphere. vistadome trains has roof windows, airliner seating, no tables, staff do a a fashion show to showcase heavily marked-up clothing they sell. windows only useful for a few minutes. bring snacks. food on train is expensive.
more on trains. Trains depart early in the morning and arrive at Aguas Caliente mid morning. From there, you must take a bus up the mountains to the ruins. The trains leave for the return trip to Cusco at 3:30 and 4:00. At least one hour of the trip is the descent down switchbacks into Cusco. you can take and get off at Ollantambo and taxi to and from Cuzco or even better get off at Punoy next to Cuzco and take a bus system waiting to take you to Cuzco and save time.
Peru rail website. http://www.orient-express.com/web/tper/tper_perurail_thetrains.jsp . You can book your tickets ahead of time on the website but you have to pay for your ticket in full at least 24 hours before your intended departure. This requires that you go to the train station in Cusco where it is basically a first come first serve service, so expect to wait at least an hour or more to purchase your tickets. Backpacker train around $68 roundtrip.
entrance fee. 70soles.
buses. first bus around 6:30am from Aguas Calientes. to enjoy machu picchu tourist free. $12
Huayna Picchu, is the 2701 meters high pinnacle that is visible in the background of the traditional postcard view of Machu Picchu. if you wanted to go, we had to be very careful because the track has some dangerous passing.
Chile
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
