Peru Trip Notes

June 2016

Here is the best piece of advice I can give you for visiting Peru: plan on spending two days at Machu Picchu. We had two days there, and I am so glad we did. Machu Picchu, despite its 8800' elevation, sits in a cloud forest. This means that clouds and fog shroud the site in a thick mist for many mornings. When we walked through the famous Sun Gate at dawn, we couldn't see anything. Our guide told us that more than half of the days, clouds prevent tourists from enjoying the famous view. It wasn't until about 10 A.M. that the clouds had dissipated enough to allow us to appreciate the full grandeur of Machu Picchu. Because we had budgeted a second day at Machu Picchu, it meant we could stay at the site late into the afternoon. Most people plan for just one day at Machu Picchu, so by 2 P.M. they must scurry to catch a bus to take them back down the mountain, so that they can be on the train back to Cuzco. After 2 P.M., most of the crowds were gone, the weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the site in the afternoon light.
Because we had two days at Machu Picchu, we were able to climb both Huayna Picchu and Mount Machu Picchu, and we walked over to see the Inca Drawbridge. We also had time to completely walk through the ruins twice (once with our guide, and once on our own). Be sure to get your tickets for climbing Huayna Picchu and Mount Machu Picchu well in advance - they only allow 200 people at a time to climb each mountain. We got our tickets for Huayna Picchu and Mount Machu Picchu from Alpaca Expeditions.

The guidebooks recommend spending a few days in Cuzco and the Sacred Valley to get yourself acclimated to the high altitude before attempting to hike the Inca Trail. This is good advice!

Do not rent a car and attempt to drive yourself around. The drivers in Peru are aggressive. Staying within your lane is optional. The city streets are narrow, steep and rarely have visible street signs. They are often one way, so you would find yourself frustrated trying to reach your destination. If you did reach your destination, there wouldn't be anywhere to park in the city.

I was told that, by law, tourist companies in Peru are only allowed to operate within their own state (province?). If work with a tour operator that offers to set up your complete Peru vacation, that organization is really going to subcontract out to different tourist companies in each state. I prefer dealing directly with the companies that will be providing the tour.
In Cuzco and Machu Picchu, we worked with Alpaca Expeditions

In Puno and Lake Titicaca, our tour operator was Inka Lake Tours

In Lima, we hired Haka Day Tours

For our trip down to Nazca, we used Nazca Flight Tours.

I selected each of these groups based upon their high rankings on the Trip Advisor. All of them provided an excellent experience, and I would recommend them. Do not hesitate to ask for personalized or custom experiences, it is quite possible that any tour you desire can be arranged for your schedule; and probably at a reasonable cost.
Trip Advisor reviews of Alpaca Expeditions Sacred Valley, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu

Trip Advisor reviews of Inca Lake Day Tours Tiahuanaco, Floating Islands, Sillustani

Trip Advisor reviews of Haku Tours Caral Civilization Tour

Trip Advisor reviews of Nazca Flights Nazca Lines Tour

Everyone we met in Peru (admittedly, they all worked in the tourism industry) was friendly and welcoming. Tourism is the 3rd largest industry in Peru, and the government is trying to grow that number. Peru aspires to welcome even more visitors, and it has a lot to offer. I would go back to Peru, I am intrigued by the ruins in the northern half of the countries, and I have heard of marvelous hikes in the beautiful Cordilla Blanca mountains.

This trip was a little bit more expensive than our usual trips. The reason is that we were on a guided tour every day of the vacation, except for our first day in Cuzco. Having a guide is a great idea in Peru. They will tell all kinds of interesting detail and are capable of answering all of your questions. Becoming a licensed tour guide in Peru is a big commitment - it requires several years of training. Each guide must be knowledgable in archaeology, astronomy, history, geology and be able to identify plants and animals. There is a big test at the end of all the training, and the guides are retested in later years to see if they have kept current with all of the latest news. The guides are true professionals, it is worth having them along. I recommend hiring them through established tour operators, if you hire a guide just off of the street, there is no guarantee what quality of service you will receive.

What

Company

Dates

Cost (US$)

Cost (Peru$)
Comment

Lodging

Cuzco Hotel Hotel Rumi Punko June 5,6,8,13 US$456 4 nights @ $110/night + exchange rate

Ollantaytambo Hotel Hotel Pakeritampu June 7 US$0 Included in Sacred Valley Tour

Aguas Calientes Hotel Tierra Viva Hotel June 12 US$134 Prepaid before we left

Puno Hotel San Antonio Suites June 14,15 US$86 Cash

Lima Hotel Hotel Runcu Miraflores June 16,17,18 US$244 3 nights @ $85/night

Tours & Attractions

Qorikancha: Temple of the Sun Cusco Attraction June 6 Peru$30 Cash

Oldstone Tours Qorikancha guide June 6 Peru$50 Cash

Cuzco Cathedral Cusco Attraction June 6 Peru$50 Cash. Included Audio Guide

Jesuit Church Cusco Attraction June 6 Peru$20 Cash

Inka Museum Cusco Attraction June 6 Peru$20 Cash

Santa Theresa Bell Tower Cusco Attraction June 6 Peru$10 Cash

2 Day Sacred Valley Tour Alpaca Expeditions June 7,8 US$680 Cash

Tip for Sacred Valley Tour Alpaca Expeditions June 8 US$40 Cash

4 Day Inca Trail Group Tour Alpaca Expeditions June 9,10,11,12 US$1290 Cash

2 Tix to climb Huayna Picchu Alpaca Expeditions June 12 US$130 Cash

Machu Picchu admission + Machu Picchu Mountain Alpaca Expeditions June 13 US$110 Cash

Bus btwn Machu Picchu & Aguas Calientes Alpaca Expeditions June 13 US$50 Cash

Sleeping bags, Air Mats, Walking Sticks Alpaca Expeditions June 9,10,11 US$100 Cash

Tip for Alpaca Porters, Chef, Guide Alpaca Expeditions June 12 Peru$450 Cash.

Cuzco to Puno Bus Inca Lake Tours June 14 US$140 Prepaid w/ Paypal

Lake Titicaca Boat Tour: Uros and Taquile Islands Inca Lake Tours June 15 US$60 Prepaid w/ Paypal

Sillustani Tour + ride to Juliaca airport Inca Lake Tours June 16 US$80 Prepaid w/ Paypal

Tip for Sillustani Tour Guide Inca Lake Tours June 16 US$20 Cash (US or Soles)

Golden Civilization Tour Haku Day Tours June 17 US$170 Cash (US or Soles)

Tip for Lima Tour Guide Haku Day Tours June 17 US$20 Cash (US or Soles)

Taxi btwn hotel and bus station Nazca Flights Tours June 18 US$18 Cash

Ballestas Island Tour Nazca Flights Tours June 18 US$60 Prepaid w/ Paypal

Flight over the Nazca Lines Nazca Flights Tours June 18 US$690 Prepaid w/ Paypal

Airport Tax Nazca Flights Tours June 18 US$9 Cash

Paracas National Reserve Nazca Flights Tours June 18 US$80 Prepaid w/ Paypal

Tip for Nazca Flights Guide Nazca Flights Tours June 18 Peru$30 Cash

Caral Ruins Guided Tour Haku Day Tours June 19 US$350 Cash

Tip for Caral Ruins Guide Haku Day Tours June 19 Peru$40 Cash

Transportation

Airport Parking Park-n-Jet #2 Jun 4 thru Jun 20 US$119 16 days Seatac parking

2 Plane tickets from Seattle to Peru Alaska Air and LAN (Now called LATMA) Jun 4, return Jun 20 US$2304 Roundtrip to Peru

2 Plane tickets to Lima LAN (Now called LATMA) June 16 US$372 One Way Puno to Lima

Car shuttle Airport to Cuzco Hotel June 5 Peru$10 Ride was free, tip for driver

Car shuttle Airport to Lima Hotel June 16 Peru$60 Cash

Car shuttle Lima Hotel to Airport June 20 Peru$60 Cash

Food & Souveniers

Inka Cosmic Architecture Book June 6 Peru$50 Cash

Bottled Water 4 bottles June 6 Peru$4 Cash

Two Chicken dinners Cava Mora in Cuzco June 6 Peru$75 Ccard. Includes 7 sole tip.

Hawaiian Pizza and Lemonade Trigotto Pizzeria in Ollantaytambo June 7 Peru$33 Cash, including tip.

Two Peru Tshirts Souvenier shirts June 8 Peru$70 Cash

T-bone Steak, Spaghetti dinners Cava Mora in Cuzco June 8 Peru$70 Cash. Includes tip.

Hawaiian Pizza Forteza Pizzeria in Aguas Calientes June 12 Peru$80 Cash. Includes tip.

Sausage/Ham/Mushroom Pizza Hot Springs I Pizzeria in Aguas Calientes June 13 Peru$80 Cash. Includes tip.

Peru Magnet Souvenier June 13 Peru$4 Cash.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies Snacks June 13 Peru$6 Cash.

Bottled Water 5 bottles June 13 Peru$5 Cash.

Raqchi and Bus Tour Guides Two books June 14 Peru$19 Cash.

Supreme Chocolate Ice Cream Ice cream for dinner in Puno June 14 Peru$15 Cash.

Supreme Chocolate Ice Cream Ice cream for dinner in Puno June 15 Peru$15 Cash.

Chicken dinners Don Balisario's in Lima June 16 Peru$62 CCard.

Two bottles Coke Zero Not included w/ lunch June 17 Peru$10 Cash.

Candy, Chocolate Cake, Coke Zero Final Snacks June 19 Peru$20 Cash.

Grand Total: US$8247

Alpaca Expeditions gave us a lot useful information. I have scanned in a lot of their material here. I was especially impressed with Alpaca Expeditions, they seemed to have exceptional guides and were super organized.

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