Departamento de Cusco Travel Forum

Contemplating flying into Lima from Rio and staying for a day or two then going to visit Machu Picchu. Question is, where is a good place to stay near there? Should we stay at Cusco, Aguas Calientes or somewhere in between.

I gather you catch the bus to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes. Correct?

We are 6 adults we cannot affort to spend $600 to sleep one night at Machu Piccho. any suggestions. October 30 or 31 st 2009

Hi, im planning to do the inca trail begining of march 2010 (as heard its shut feb) and i need to get down to santiago to catch my flight to new zealand (not yet booked yet as not sure how long will take me). does anyone know about any buses cusco to lima to get internal flight down or overnight bus? or does anything (flight/buses) go from cusco direct to santiago?
Cheers
Christina

I saw ads for trips "Machupicchu by car" http://www.machupicchubycar.com/machupicchubycbus/machupicchubycar2d.html and I'm wondering if they are worth it. The time at MP seems little and they also take the train at some point. Anyone used them?

I'll be in the US for Christmas and I'm looking into a possible side trip down to MP. I've read that the weather around that time (late Dec.-early Jan.) would be rainy but does anyone know how exactly rainy it's been in recent years? Does 'rainy' mean continuous downpour for hours or days?...light showers or torrents?...or is it more of sporadic rains with dry spells in between? I guess what I'm trying to ask is would it still be OK to travel there at that time of year, or should I just skip it for a better time?

And should it be a 'go', are hotel rates, transportation fees, and other related expenses any different considering that it'll be the low season?

Thanks for any replies.

Anyone know what the going rate is to hire one of the local tour guides at the entrance to MP?

I'll be taking the train from Cuzco since I have some mobility difficulties and am not fit enough to do the Inca trail. However I was wondering whether the actual site is very physically demanding and whether I'll manage on my own.
Besides, would a day be enough for Machu Picchu? I'll be working in Cuzco during the week and would have only weekends off.

Hi there,

I think many have probably post up enquiries about tour agents in Cusco to get some reviews and feedback. I am planning to do my 4d3n hiking tour at the end of November. I have been doing some research myself and have come up with a few listed ones which so far have good reviews but I seriously want to listen from the travellers themselves who have done the hiking trails.

Thus are the list

1) Apus Peru - http://www.apus-peru.com/classic_inca_trail.html

2) Llama Path - http://www.llamapath.com/

3) Inca Trail Reservations - http://www.incatrailreservations.com/inca_trail.html

4) All Treks - http://www.alltrekcusco.com/inkatrail4day.htm

5) Pachamama - http://www.pmexplorers.com/index/index.php?id=15

6) Indiana Expeditions - http://www.indiana-expedition.com/infinctrail.htm

Kindly comment only if you have done with any of the above agents or if you have any agents which you strongly recommend, please do so.

Thanks all.

Cheers

Hi there,

I think many have probably post up enquiries about tour agents in Cusco to get some reviews and feedback. I am planning to do my 4d3n hiking tour at the end of November. I have been doing some research myself and have come up with a few listed ones which so far have good reviews but I seriously want to listen from the travellers themselves who have done the hiking trails.

Thus are the list

1) Apus Peru - http://www.apus-peru.com/classic_inca_trail.html

2) Llama Path - http://www.llamapath.com/

3) Inca Trail Reservations - http://www.incatrailreservations.com/inca_trail.html

4) All Treks - http://www.alltrekcusco.com/inkatrail4day.htm

5) Pachamama - http://www.pmexplorers.com/index/index.php?id=15

6) Indiana Expeditions - http://www.indiana-expedition.com/infinctrail.htm

Kindly comment only if you have done with any of the above agents or if you have any agents which you strongly recommend, please do so.

Thanks all.

Cheers

I've just returned from a wonderful holiday in Peru. I bought a couple of little tapestry water bottle carriers and wish I'd bought ten more. Is there any way I can order them from England? I paid about 3 sol each I think.

Hello

I am planning to do the Salkantay Trail, would like to start ideally on 29th September or 1st or 2nd October and I am looking for other travellers interested to join me and register/book or to provide feedback (including the agency who organised it). I have Llama Paths and Enigma in mind but maybe someone else has another recommendation? As I am not too flexible with the dates, I would like to book already before I arrive in Cusco, to be sure that the hike takes definitely place on any of the 3 dates. Or does someone know whether during that period there are always hikes on that trail and no need to book ahead?
Any feedback is highly appreciated!
Warm regards from Geneva!
Sylvia

I am hiking the Inca Trail and have been given the opportunity to spend an extra night in A. C.. Is it worth it to stay an extra night and perhaps to go back to see Machu Picchu a second day?

I will be staying in Cusco for a bit before I hike the Inca Trail. Should I bring my own PowerBars, trail mix etc or can I buy all of that cheaply in Cusco?

If you were taking your 70 yr old mum for 7 days in cusco/machu picchu what would you suggest as she can't hike or bike .I want to make this experience wonderful for her so i am not sure how hamy days in each place would be best recommended...A day trip there just seems too quick to take all it in, so maybe an overnight tour would be best???

I am taking my mum on a short 2.5 weeks to south america from australia and have decided on 5 nights in argentina,2 nights in lima and then have 6 nights to work out what i am going to do.She is 70 yrs old so hiking and biking is out of the question but she would love to go to machu picchu.If you were bringing your mum of that age what do you suggest in terms of 7 days cusco/machu picchu...A day trip there just seems too short by reading all the forums!!!!

Hey, me and my 12 year old son will be traveling to Cuzco this coming August and have three possible places to stay. Since I am not familiarized with the area it would be great to get some feedback

Hotel/Hostal Koyllur (San Blas) - I read many reviews about things being stolen there.

Rey Antares Mystic Hotel (Next to the Cuzco Train Station)- I really like this hotel but they are located right in front of the Mercado San Pedro (Central) - How dangerous is this?

Hotel/Hostal Loreto (Located on the Main Square)- is this more of a backpacker Hostel or am I good with my 12 year old?

I would really appreciate some help before I book any hotel -

Best,

JC

I am taking the Vistadome train from Ollanta up to AC/MP for 2 nights, and have heard conflicting stories on luggage storage. Does anyone have any info on whether or not you can bring luggage on the train (and how much it costs if so), or if there are safe/secure storage lockers at Ollanta train station?

Thanks,
Ben

Does anybody travelled from Santiago de Chile to Machu Picchu ?
What route and how would you recommend there ? What route would you recommend in my back from Machu Piccu. Generally I have not got too much time. Maybe it is worth to go via plane from Santiago to any local airport near Machu Picchu ?

Aloha everyone, I'll be traveling to Cusco/AC/MP in August with my girlfriend. Our plan is to arrive in AC in the evening, get up early the next day at 5am to make the first bus and hike Huayna Picchu, enter MP and visit the ruins, exit to eat lunch/use the restroom (since I've read there are no facilities inside), then re-enter after lunch for a few more hours.

Does anyone know if the entrance fee is good for the entire day, or do I need to buy multiple tickets?

Thanks for your help, Ben

I am looking for someone to do a private tour of the scared valley. Ideally myself and two traveling mates would be picked up in Cusco and driven to areas of the Sacred Valley and allow time to get out, walk around etc. Ideally the guide would be knowledgeable and fluent in English. I’d prefer not to do the big mass bus tours.

Does anyone know of a company or indivdual they can reccomend? is it best just to arrange it with our hotel?

Any estimate of the cost?

Hi Guys-
I have a couple of questions regarding Cusco as well as Machu Picchu.

1. I am looking at an arrival into Cusco's airport at 8:55am (i leave Lima at 7:40am) If I were to take a taxi to Ollanta, could I make a 12:36pm train to M.P.? That would give me roughly 3 and a half hours to get to Ollanta from Cusco's airport.

2. Is it easy to get a taxi from Cusco's airport? Roughly how much would it be from Cusco directly to Ollanta's train station?

3. If I purchased my train ticket online couldnt I just pick up the actual tickets at the Ollanta station? That way I could go directly from the airport to the train station without making a bunch of uneccessary stops?

4. Tickets for Machhu Pichhu...there will be 3 of us. We plan to arrive in A.C. in the afternoon and stay overnight and do MP the next morning. Could we buy our entrance tickets to MP the day before? I.E. we arrive at 2pm on Sunday, could we buy or entrance tickets to MP Sunday afternoon and then go to MP first thing monday morning?

5. Also, when we return from Cusco, I would prefer to fly back to Lima later in the day. There is a 3pm flight on LAN that would arrive into Lima at 4:30pm. That would be the ideal flight for us but am worried about all the comments regarding the planes being cancelled etc. Is it common? There are about 6 other flights after the 3pm flight so if they did cancel it we could hopefully get on another one...

Thanks for your help!

Hello,

I'm a student and I'll be living in Cusco from August-December of '09 and studying at the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola. If you have any general advice about living in Perú long term, especially any good places to pass time in the city, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

hallo to everybody.can anyone tell me if the weight its important,i mean if plays some role in the attitude illness?i am 100 kg and this is a very good reason to loose weight!!i will be in cusco in august.in the near past i had some problems with cholesterol..thank you

hi i'll be off to Peru next week wasn't able to research about
souvenirs to buy there? any suggestions?

something unique? :)

thanks in advance!

I'll be visiting this month Cusco, MP and Lima. Is it common for foreigners as well as locals to wear shorts or will I be tagged as a turista?

I'll be visiting this month Cusco, MP and Lima. Is it common for foreigners as well as locals to wear shorts or will I be tagged as a turista?

We will be travelling to Cusco in the first week of May. Do we need to take rain coats with us?

Spending two nights in AC this July (woohoo!) and wondering if anyone can recommend a decent hotel that's not too pricey. I'd like to make my reservations in advance.

Thanks!

I'm visiting MP in July and really want to get the fist bus up from AC to MP (we will be staying overnight in AC on either end of our day at MP).

So my question is: is it first come, first served to get onto the first bus up to MP or can you buy tickets in advance. And if you can buy them in advance how do I do that?

Thank you!

Hi,
Has anybody made train reservations via perurail.com and did not provide passport number ? is this truly a requirement, ie, will they not give me the ticket when i get there if there is no passport number in my reservation ? I am kinda hesitant to put in my passport number (and 2 other friends') ...
any ideas ? or is it pretty safe ? i know it's not like it's my SSN or credit card number, but it's just that i don't put in info if it's not absolutely necessary ..

Thanks
Maria