Countries: Peru
Cities: Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Paracus
Highlights: Saqsaywaman, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Humantay Lake, Rainbow Mountain, Ballestas Islands, Huacachina
Peru has been on our bucket list for many years and for good reason! With Machu Picchu being one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, we knew we had to visit it. But that wasn’t all that we saw! With some careful planning and the help of a tour agency, we were able to squeeze in the best of Peru in about 10 days, and what a magical 10 days it was!
Day 1: Travel from USA to Lima to Cusco
The beginning of this trip was a long travel day. There are not many (if any) direct flights from the USA to Cusco, so we booked separate flights: one from JFK to Lima (with a layover in Bogota), and then one from Lima to Cusco. We made sure to leave about a 5 hour gap in between the two flights to account for any delays. The view flying into Cusco over the Andes was a magnificent taste of what was to come.
Once landing, we checked into our hotel in Cusco – Hotel Rumi Punku. This hotel was AMAZING. OK, maybe it was up a little bit of a hill, but it was close to town, affordable, adorable, and comfortable. We checked in, unpacked and had our first sip of coca tea.
PRO TIP: Due to the elevation change, it’s highly recommended to have 2-3 days of down time to acclimate to the altitude. Drink lots of coca tea (our hotel had unlimited amounts for free) and consider taking medication if necessary.
Next, we decided to explore Plaza de Armas, the main square in Cusco. We took our time (the lack of oxygen is real!) and walked around the tiny streets and eventually to the square. It was breathtaking (no pun intended)! Although the shop owners WERE a bit aggressive with trying to sell you things, the overall atmosphere was electric. We grabbed dinner at a restaurant overlooking the square at sunset, which I highly recommend.
As it was a long travel day, we went back to the hotel and went to bed early.
Day 2: Explore Cusco
As we were still acclimating, we had another day scheduled of seeing what Cusco had to offer, and there was a lot! We ended up booking a free walking tour which was highly informative and interesting (of course, a tip is always appreciated at the end). We admired the intricate Inca stonework, visited a local market, and learned about the cathedrals and history of the city. Don’t forget to visit the Twelve angled stone, which is their most famous!
After looking at the spa services at the hotel, Jenny and I decided to book a couples massage (it was cheaper than 2 singles massages). I’ll be honest, this was not really the relaxing experience I thought it would be. In fact, it was a bit awkward. Maybe massages are just different in Peru, but I felt like I was being mangled, wrangled and beat up. I probably wouldn’t recommend this.
That night, we wanted to get a view out over the city. We heard that Mirador De San Blas was the spot, so we walked up the MANY steps for the view. It was beautiful. Worth it? Not so sure. There were several restaurants up there so we grabbed some food and drinks with a view over Cusco.
Day 3: Explore Cusco, Saqsaywaman
We wanted to explore the San Blas neighborhood during the day, so we woke up early, had our coca tea and walked up the hilly streets to the neighborhood. There were many markets up there, so we bought some beautiful souvenirs. I couldn’t resist a picture with some adorable alpacas (although make sure to decide on a price BEFORE taking the picture).
That afternoon, we booked a guided tour to Saqsaywaman. I highly recommend this tour. We were given some history and background and then ample free time to explore these amazing ancient ruins. The magnitude of this fortress was mesmerizing.
The tour then took us to several other archaeological sites including Q’enqo, Puka Pukara and Tambombochay. All of these sites were extremely impressive in their own way!
Lastly, we were taken to an alpaca farm! We fed and pet the alpacas, followed by learning about the process of prepping the wool, dying the wool, and weaving wool products. It was a very interesting exhibition (although very expensive souvenirs, for obviously good reason).
That night, we got dinner at the Tunupa Restaurant, which offers live music and traditional Peruvian dance.
PRO TIP: Don’t forget to try the traditional Peruvian alcoholic drink, a Pisco Sour!
Day 4: Sacred Valley
For the next 4 days of our tour, we used Visit South America to guide us. I will absolutely HIGHLY recommend Visit South America every time. Our tour guides were fantastic, it was a completely private tour (just our group), they brought us to the best locations at the best times (4am wakeup calls but at least we got these spots to ourselves), took the best photos of us, and the food and transportation was all taken care of for us. We even saved some money by booking our own lodging.
The first day of the tour was of the Sacred Valley. We were picked up in a small van and brought around to various locations in the Sacred Valley. I won’t pretend to know all of the names of the places we visited, but it was absolutely magical. The skill and effort that went into making these structures was unfathomable.
We visited churches, an old Botanical Library, Salt Flats and markets, just to name a few. We stopped for lunch at a buffet, where I tried guinea pig for the first (and last) time.
Eventually, we ended up in Ollantaytambo, where we took the train to Aguas Calientas (the starting point for our trip to Machu Picchu). The train ride had a fun show depicting the history of Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientas was full of tourists (ourselves included) but seemed to be set up to handle the influx. There were lots of restaurants to choose from, so we grabbed dinner and went to bed for an early wake up call.
Day 5: Machu Picchu
The day had finally arrived! Our tour guide picked us up bright and early and we hopped on a bus to Machu Picchu. We HAD wanted to do the Inca Trail, but with a tight schedule, that just wasn’t possible. Because we had woken up so early, it wasn’t super crowded, and because there were only 4 of us in our group (we saw other groups of 30-50 people), we were able to sneak off into some parts for better photos. After a bit of hiking and climbing some stairs, we finally saw it. And it was SO much better than I anticipated.
Just imagining the civilization that used to live here, at the top of this mountain in the middle of seemingly nowhere, blew my mind. The amount of work that they did to survive, and then how it all ended and was left undiscovered for so many years captivated me. We walked around Machu Picchu, taking it all in, for quite a while. It was honestly one of the most magical moments of my life.
After time at Machu Picchu, we took the bus back down, grabbed souvenirs and lunch, and eventually made the journey back to Cusco. At this point in the trip, the group of the 4 of us split into 2 groups of 2 (one of us was pregnant and cautioned not to do the more strenuous hikes) so Jenny and I got an Airbnb for the next 3 nights. It had a beautiful view overlooking Cusco. Here is the link for the Airbnb.
Day 6: Humantay Lake
Another 4am wake up call for today’s excursion. Since it was such an early start, our tour guides told us they would provide breakfast, and provide they did! They had an assortment of fresh fruits, pastries, coca tea, etc, and it was wonderful. They drove us to the start of the Humantay Lake and we were the ONLY people on the trail. I will say, the trail was ROUGH. It is all uphill, and at an even higher elevation (~13,000ft), so we had to stop pretty frequently. Also, it was pretty cold. Definitely wear layers!!
The payoff was absolutely worth it. The lake was beautiful and secluded. We sat and just enjoyed the magnificence of the nature around us for a while, until some clouds starting rolling in.
Eventually, we made our way back down and finally saw the first buses of people starting to make their grueling climb up. Note: you can also rent horses to take you up if you don’t feel up for the task. After our hike, our tour guide brought us to a local restaurant (or house? I’m not quite sure) where they prepared a meal especially for us! The food was delicious and we felt like royalty having our own personal chef providing us all of the local cuisine.
After that, we went back to Cusco to rest up for another hiking day.
Day 7: Rainbow Mountain
The most grueling day of them all! Another 4am wake up call to beat the crowd (which if I haven’t said it before, I highly recommend). Our tour guide had to carry an oxygen tank on this hike, and we had to have our oxygen measurements taken before we left. We would be going up to over 17,000ft above sea level! Again, you can rent a horse for this hike if you want, but we were up for the challenge.
As you can tell by the pictures, this day was even colder than Humantay Lake. We climbed higher and higher, passing wild alpaca as we went. As a side note, I’d definitely recommend waterproof shoes for this hike, as you will be hiking mostly in snow – at least in April when we went.
Eventually we reached the top (again, alone). The view of Rainbow Mountain was definitely unique and mesmerizing, and I was proud to have conquered the hike up. There were alpacas at the top of the mountain that you could “hire” for a picture, so of course I had to get the photo. AND our tour guide even brought a poncho for a fun photo op (it also kept us a little warm in the freezing wind).
After spending some time at the top, we hiked back down (again, passing those that had finally made it), were driven to a random restaurant (or house) and provided another meal by our private chef which was delicious! As you can see, we were a bit worn out from the 4am wake up calls and demanding hikes.
After that, we went back to Cusco for our last night. I decided to check out some of the local nightlife, and it did not disappoint. I made some friends at an Irish bar, and danced the night away at a Latin club.
Day 8: Cusco to Lima
Unfortunately, it was time to leave Cusco. We started the day with breakfast overlooking Plaza de Armas, packed up our bags, and caught a flight back to Lima. In Lima, we stayed at Llaqta Wasi, which was affordable and had a great central location. There wasn’t too much time to explore Lima, but we did grab pizza and drinks at a nearby rooftop bar, which was a fun experience.
Day 9: Paracus and Huacachina
It was our last full day in Peru and we were going to make it a full one! We booked a tour to Paracus and Huacachina with Peru Hop. We had a 6am pick up call and did not arrive back home until 11:30pm.
A tour bus first drove us to Paracus, where we boarded a boat to Ballestas Islands (aka the mini Galapagos). The islands are home to many sea lions, penguins, and you also get a view of the infamous Nazca lines!
After the boat tour, we were given time to explore Paracus a bit and have lunch. There honestly wasn’t too much to explore, but it was a cute little town.
Next, we were on our way to Huacachina, an oasis in the Ica desert. I had honestly never seen something like this before in real life, so it was an amazing site! We would be doing a dune buggy tour, which to this day, remains the most horrifying experience I’ve ever done in my life. The driver was maybe 15 or 16 years old, we were going what felt like 100mph over these gigantic and ridiculously steep sand dunes, with nothing but a “seat belt” that hardly did anything. I also forgot to pack a bandanna, so sand was EVERYWHERE. Note: they do sell bandanas in Paracus and I recommend buying one if you don’t have one already.
After a bit of horrifying driving, we were given our next death-defying experience: sandboarding. I thought this would be fun, but these sand dunes were HUGE and you went down FAST. Of course, we both experienced this, but I refused to do the tallest dunes. It was a fun experience, but one I probably wouldn’t do again (then again, I’m not that much of a dare-devil).
Finally, we watched the sunset go down over the desert, which was an amazing way to end our magical time in Peru.
Day 10: Travel Back to USA
The last day was truly a full travel day. From Lima to Bogota to JFK, it took us over 12 hours. In just a few days, we had wandered through ancient citadels in the clouds, hiked to jewel-toned lakes and rainbow-colored mountains, savored bold Peruvian flavors, and immersed ourselves in a culture we had previously known nothing about. Itโs a place that challenged our legs, expanded our hearts, and reminded us that the world is full of wonderโif youโre willing to climb for it.
As always, if you have any questions, or need help with an itinerary or booking, don’t hesitate to reach out!
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