Cusco Travel Forum

We're going to Peru for 3 weeks in October. Have the trip organized...but would like to know if anyone out there as taken the bus(es) back from Cuzco to Lima and whether they were able to get to Ayacucho, Andahaylas or Huancavelica. Also I read something about an old train that runs somewhere in this area? We are already taking 4 flights and I'd like to see some of the places off the Gringo trail. Gracias...Paz PS this is at the end of our trip.

For buses (and airlines) you may want to check my Peru transportation pages-more info and websites there.

There are two routes from Cuzco to Lima. The most commonly travel is through Juliaca (near Puno & Lake Titicaca), Arequipa, to the coast and then north to Lima. The road is paved and there are many buses. It can take as little as 20 hours if done without stops, though it would not seem logical to not stop along the way. (If you are not going to stop, you should consider just flying back from Cuzco to Lima as you would save a day of torture for just a few bucks.)

The other route involves a lot of dirt road. My son took this route and he traveled 30 hours. His trip bypassed Huancavalica. He could have taken a train or a bus off his route to Huancavalica if he had wanted to do this. There is another bus that starts in Ica and stops at Pisca and then goes by dirt road to Huancavalica at night that I took several years ago. I think I can safely say that this is off the Gringo trail.

Good luck. bob