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Peru: Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, logistics help
Posted on 5/6/24 at 7:12 am
Posted on 5/6/24 at 7:12 am
Thinking about doing this trip next year.
The logistics of Machu Picchu seems rather insane. Some people say it’s easy, others talk about what a shitshow it is.
Take a train for 4 hours at 4 am from Cusco, where you can’t stretch your legs, get to Machu Picchu, get in a long line to take another bus to the top (or hike), see MP for like 2 hours, you have to get your time slot on your ticket right or they send you back, get the bus back down, then take another 4 hour train. (Some people do bus from Cusco to another town then do train).
Seems exhausting and insane.
Anyone do this?
Did you just stay in Aguas Calientes for a night to break it up? All in one day?
The train companies offer some more expensive packages that make it seem logistically a lot easier, but still 8 hours of travel in 1 day seems less than ideal
The logistics of Machu Picchu seems rather insane. Some people say it’s easy, others talk about what a shitshow it is.
Take a train for 4 hours at 4 am from Cusco, where you can’t stretch your legs, get to Machu Picchu, get in a long line to take another bus to the top (or hike), see MP for like 2 hours, you have to get your time slot on your ticket right or they send you back, get the bus back down, then take another 4 hour train. (Some people do bus from Cusco to another town then do train).
Seems exhausting and insane.
Anyone do this?
Did you just stay in Aguas Calientes for a night to break it up? All in one day?
The train companies offer some more expensive packages that make it seem logistically a lot easier, but still 8 hours of travel in 1 day seems less than ideal
This post was edited on 5/6/24 at 7:14 am
4
Posted on 5/6/24 at 8:29 am to Fun Bunch
From a friend that did this:
"he should sign up with a tour operator like Backroads. There are probably less expensive options too but they know what they’re doing so will save you a lot of headaches. I would not try to piecemeal it myself.
We did train to Aguas Calientes. Then hike final day and bus or hike back down to AC. Then later train back to Cusco."
"he should sign up with a tour operator like Backroads. There are probably less expensive options too but they know what they’re doing so will save you a lot of headaches. I would not try to piecemeal it myself.
We did train to Aguas Calientes. Then hike final day and bus or hike back down to AC. Then later train back to Cusco."
This post was edited on 5/6/24 at 1:57 pm
Posted on 5/6/24 at 8:41 am to Chicken
I did the four day Inca trail so my experience was a bit different, but you fly into Cusco, take a bus or taxi to the sacred valley (maybe an hour. From there it is a super scenic train ride to Aguas Calientes. Then you need to take the bus up the mountain to machu pichu. Also make sure you have reservations to machu pichu.
Posted on 5/6/24 at 9:11 am to luvdatigahs
See, we were thinking of staying in Cusco several days, but doing MP all in one day.
IncaRail has an "All Inclusive package" that takes care of your MP ticket, picking you up at your hotel, getting you to the train, getting you on the bus and then a guide in MP, and then the train back.
It still seems like a long as hell day. I'd probably prefer the afternoon train to AC, do MP the next morning, and then go back that next afternoon.
I'll look into Backroads, Cluckster. I have seen them in the past for other trips but never used them
IncaRail has an "All Inclusive package" that takes care of your MP ticket, picking you up at your hotel, getting you to the train, getting you on the bus and then a guide in MP, and then the train back.
It still seems like a long as hell day. I'd probably prefer the afternoon train to AC, do MP the next morning, and then go back that next afternoon.
I'll look into Backroads, Cluckster. I have seen them in the past for other trips but never used them
Posted on 5/6/24 at 11:46 am to Fun Bunch
Flying into Cuzco and spending that first night at 12,000 feet is a recipe for altitude sickness.
Aguas is a lot, lot lower. If you don't want to go all the way to Aguas that first night, you can do like we did and do a mini-tour of parts of the Sacred Valley and spend the night at the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba, which is a really nice hotel (and which also has a train station on the property that will take you to Aguas the next day).
We still had altitude problems at Urubamba and (after our 2nd night was at Aguas) in Cuzco on our 3rd night.
Aguas is a lot, lot lower. If you don't want to go all the way to Aguas that first night, you can do like we did and do a mini-tour of parts of the Sacred Valley and spend the night at the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba, which is a really nice hotel (and which also has a train station on the property that will take you to Aguas the next day).
We still had altitude problems at Urubamba and (after our 2nd night was at Aguas) in Cuzco on our 3rd night.
This post was edited on 5/6/24 at 11:53 am
Posted on 5/6/24 at 12:02 pm to Fun Bunch
I agree why not break it up? I would absolutely train the day before so you are there. Much less risk of a delay that way also. How far do you have to buy a ticket in advance? I'm assuming they sell out, as in you can't be flexible if the weather isn't good one day or something.
ETA: FWIW if you look at Machu Pichu on a map its geographically isolated in very steep mountainous terrain. Thereby there's not going to be easy options really to get there unless you pay.
ETA: FWIW if you look at Machu Pichu on a map its geographically isolated in very steep mountainous terrain. Thereby there's not going to be easy options really to get there unless you pay.
This post was edited on 5/6/24 at 12:04 pm
Posted on 5/6/24 at 12:42 pm to Fun Bunch
The advice we received a few years ago was to fly into Cusco but stay in the Sacred Valley to acclimate to the altitude. That seemed to work really well for us and we had a great trip in 2019.
We arrived on Monday afternoon and had a private driver take us to our hotel in Yucay, which was a small town with a few good restaurant options. The next day we had a private tour of the Sacred Valley, which took us to Ollantaytambo (Incan fortress and battle site) Moray (terraced architectural site), and the salt mine in Moray. We also had a stop for a textile demonstration and went into someone's home to try the corn beer.
The next morning we hired a driver to take us back to Ollantaytambo to catch a morning train to Aguas Calientes. Once we got there, we went up to Machu Picchu where we met our tour guide who showed us through the ruins.
We then spent the night in Aguas Calientes and went back to Machu Picchu the next morning. Since we had a guided tour the previous day, we were able to go back in by ourselves and hiked to the sun gate and then to the inca bridge. After that we walked back through the ruins on our own.
We then took the train back to Ollantaytambo, then met our driver to take us to Cusco where we stayed a couple of nights. I really liked Cusco and thought it was worth spending time in.
I'm not sure what else you're looking at in Peru, but I'd recommend spending a few days in the rain forest. Before going to the Sacred Valley, we flew from Lima to Puerto Maldanado where we spent a few nights at a "resort" along the Madre de Dios river. The resort had planned excursions every day to allow you to see wildlife and flora of the region. It's a pretty amazing experience to wake up at 4:00 am to the sounds of howler monkeys over your cabin.
We arrived on Monday afternoon and had a private driver take us to our hotel in Yucay, which was a small town with a few good restaurant options. The next day we had a private tour of the Sacred Valley, which took us to Ollantaytambo (Incan fortress and battle site) Moray (terraced architectural site), and the salt mine in Moray. We also had a stop for a textile demonstration and went into someone's home to try the corn beer.
The next morning we hired a driver to take us back to Ollantaytambo to catch a morning train to Aguas Calientes. Once we got there, we went up to Machu Picchu where we met our tour guide who showed us through the ruins.
We then spent the night in Aguas Calientes and went back to Machu Picchu the next morning. Since we had a guided tour the previous day, we were able to go back in by ourselves and hiked to the sun gate and then to the inca bridge. After that we walked back through the ruins on our own.
We then took the train back to Ollantaytambo, then met our driver to take us to Cusco where we stayed a couple of nights. I really liked Cusco and thought it was worth spending time in.
I'm not sure what else you're looking at in Peru, but I'd recommend spending a few days in the rain forest. Before going to the Sacred Valley, we flew from Lima to Puerto Maldanado where we spent a few nights at a "resort" along the Madre de Dios river. The resort had planned excursions every day to allow you to see wildlife and flora of the region. It's a pretty amazing experience to wake up at 4:00 am to the sounds of howler monkeys over your cabin.
Posted on 5/6/24 at 12:49 pm to Whew_Pig
quote:
We arrived on Monday afternoon and had a private driver take us to our hotel in Yucay
I'll note as well that regular taxi drivers at the Cuzco airport are quite happy to make stops at interesting sites on the way to a hotel in the valley (in exchange for a higher fee of course). It's not really something that you have to set up in advance. Uber works in Cuzco too (at least, it did in 2017, when I was there).
Posted on 5/6/24 at 1:41 pm to Fun Bunch
Visited Lima & Machu Picchu pre-Covid. Tourism has changed so much that many of my experiences will be out of date. That said, managed everything with Vaya Adventures which specialized in South and Central America at that time. They are still in business. It was all private travel, not a tour. We selected from a range of lodgings, preferring small inns.
3 nights Lima. Bad traffic makes seeing the sights a very slow process. Prearranged car, driver, guide.
Flight to Cusco, met by van, driver and guide and drove directly down into Sacred Valley stopping at towns, ruins, etc. 1 night at Urubamba next to train station. Long scenic train ride down into high-altitude rain forest to Agua Caliente for 3 nights. Had reservations at Machu Picchu 2 days, one with guide, one on our own. Each day rode the bus up/down the switchback road.
Greatly enjoyed it. Guides took care of logistics...nothing very complicated.
Closed out the trip at Cusco on our own or with guide. It's an interesting place. It's the highest place on the trip.
Flying back to Lima the Cusco airport was chaotic. Somehow our guide arranged a shortcut around security taking us directly to boarding.
Expect bottlenecks in your travels. Many people specking different languages have to converge on a remote mountain. Enjoy coca tea when offered and chew a few leaves after meals. Every restaurant has a basket full.
You will find warnings about food illnesses...take them seriously.
3 nights Lima. Bad traffic makes seeing the sights a very slow process. Prearranged car, driver, guide.
Flight to Cusco, met by van, driver and guide and drove directly down into Sacred Valley stopping at towns, ruins, etc. 1 night at Urubamba next to train station. Long scenic train ride down into high-altitude rain forest to Agua Caliente for 3 nights. Had reservations at Machu Picchu 2 days, one with guide, one on our own. Each day rode the bus up/down the switchback road.
Greatly enjoyed it. Guides took care of logistics...nothing very complicated.
Closed out the trip at Cusco on our own or with guide. It's an interesting place. It's the highest place on the trip.
Flying back to Lima the Cusco airport was chaotic. Somehow our guide arranged a shortcut around security taking us directly to boarding.
Expect bottlenecks in your travels. Many people specking different languages have to converge on a remote mountain. Enjoy coca tea when offered and chew a few leaves after meals. Every restaurant has a basket full.
You will find warnings about food illnesses...take them seriously.
Posted on 5/6/24 at 5:38 pm to Tree_Fall
Another pre covid trip...but what we did...
Flew into Peru and immediately went to Cusco.
Spent 3 days in Cusco, doing the city, Ollantaytambo day trip, etc..
Took the train to Auguas Calientes and then had a ticket for that afternnoon and did the tour of Macchu Picchu with a guide to get a lay of the land.
We bought the early entry ticket for the next day to be able to go to the Sun Gate for the sunrise...I think it got us in at 5am. After that we then went to hike Wayna Picchu which is the big mountain in the background of every picture....but they only let so many people up each day so had to get signed up before everyone got in. It was my favorite part of the area as they have ruins up top there also.
We then spent one more day in Cusco before flying back to Lima.
After a day and a half in Lima we went to Montanita for a few days to unwind. If you like those type of beach towns, highly recommend.
Flew into Peru and immediately went to Cusco.
Spent 3 days in Cusco, doing the city, Ollantaytambo day trip, etc..
Took the train to Auguas Calientes and then had a ticket for that afternnoon and did the tour of Macchu Picchu with a guide to get a lay of the land.
We bought the early entry ticket for the next day to be able to go to the Sun Gate for the sunrise...I think it got us in at 5am. After that we then went to hike Wayna Picchu which is the big mountain in the background of every picture....but they only let so many people up each day so had to get signed up before everyone got in. It was my favorite part of the area as they have ruins up top there also.
We then spent one more day in Cusco before flying back to Lima.
After a day and a half in Lima we went to Montanita for a few days to unwind. If you like those type of beach towns, highly recommend.
Posted on 5/7/24 at 8:38 am to tccdc
Any lodging recommendations in Cusco? Heading there for a wedding next year.
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