As an avid hiker, Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a while…but it turns out, you don’t really need to be a hiker unless you’re planning to hike the Inca Trail (4 days of hiking and camping along the way). Machu Picchu was the genesis for this trip to South America, which included 4 days in Peru, 3 days in Chile, and 3 days in Argentina. Peru (and South America in general) is so big and there’s so much to do, you could easily spend at least a week there. Since we wanted to visit some other countries during this trip, we had to focus on just one area of Peru this time. We figured we’d spend a little time in each country and we can always go back to explore more! This itinerary is good for anyone who likes adventure, but probably best for older kids / teens or adults.
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Here is a sample 4-day itinerary for Cusco, Peru based on our trip in April:
DAY 1: ACCLIMATING AND EXPLORING CUSCO
If Machu Picchu is part of your plan for Peru, you need to travel to Cusco and stay for at least 2-3 days to acclimate to the elevation before making your way there. Cusco is an historic city in the Andes Mountains of Peru that sits at over 12,000 feet of elevation, so it helps to prepare you for Machu Picchu (at around 9,000 feet). Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain (at 17,000 feet) were both must-do’s for us, so it was important for us to take some time to acclimate. We did get some Diamox (altitude sickness medication) from our doctor beforehand, which I would recommend just in case. It’s also important to stay hydrated and take it easy for the first couple of days. The local coca tea and candies help as well.
Travel Tip: note that many of the public restrooms in Peru will not have toilet seats or toilet paper, so always travel with some tissue and hand sanitizer!
As far as time of year to visit, remember that South America’s seasons are the opposite of North America, and because of the high elevations in Peru it gets quite cold in the winter. The dry season is May through November. We visited in early April and it was very pleasant; just one day of rain.
We arrived in the morning after flying overnight from the US, with a layover in Lima. If you’ve read my tips for traveling overseas with ease, you already know that getting outside and staying awake is critical after arrival! We stayed at the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco, which is a beautiful hotel and former convent from the 16th century. It has well-appointed rooms (they pipe in oxygenated air to help you adjust to the altitude), delicious restaurants, and fun extras like Pisco Sour making class, and meet and greets with Panchita the Alpaca!
After arriving in Cusco and checking in to the hotel, we grabbed some coca tea from the lobby, and headed out to explore Cusco. We visited Plaza de Armas, Cathedral Basilica de la Virgen de la Asuncion, took a little tour of the Choco Museo (there are some tour options here, but we just walked in, did some chocolate tastings, and bought some treats to take with us), and then checked out the Alpaca products and museum at Mundo Alpaca. All of these stops were a close walk from the JW Marriott.
After exploring the city in the rain and getting our token souvenir mug from Starbucks, we headed back to the hotel for Pisco Sours (a must-try in Peru, just not too many) and a delicious dinner, including these Peruvian “nachos”!
DAY 2: PERUVIAN COOKING CLASS AND EXPLORING MORE OF HISTORIC CUSCO
We started our day with breakfast at the hotel, and then HAD to meet Panchita the Alpaca and get some photos with her in the courtyard…so cute and soft! Then we headed to San Pedro Market to meet Chef Jesus from Peruvian Cusco Flavors for our cooking class, which I booked through Trip Advisor.
For the cooking class, there were just four of us in the group. Chef Jesus brought us through the market to pick up various ingredients that we would use later. Even if you don’t do a tour like ours, San Pedro Market is definitely worth a visit. It’s very clean, organized by category (think fruit, grains, flowers, souvenirs., etc.), and has a huge variety of products available to purchase.
After the market, we headed to Chef Jesus’ kitchen where we put our ingredients to use. We made three types of drinks, a civiche, chicken and potato superfood concoction, tamales, and dessert! It was a 4-hour experience and was super fun time from start to finish. The food in Peru really is fantastic.
We finished the cooking class in the early afternoon, so we took the opportunity to check out some of the other important sites in Cusco…plus we needed to walk off all the food we ate! We started at Coricancha (aka Qorikancha or Inca Temple of the Sun), which is the most important temple to the Inca, built in the 15th century. It takes about an hour to fully explore the temple and walk the grounds. Be sure to take in the amazing views of Cusco from here!
For more great views of the city, you can make the trek up to Mirador de Plaza San Cristobal. We didn’t tour the church as it was getting close to closing time, but it was a good spot to catch our breath and snap a couple of pictures before walking even further up the hill to our next stop!
From San Cristobal, we continued our walk up the steep hill (about another 15 minutes) to arrive at Sacsayhuaman, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and former Inca Citadel that housed inhabitants as far back as 900 CE. For a small fee, you can tour the rolling green hills and ancient stone walls built by the Inca years ago. Sacsayhuaman sits high above the city of Cusco at over 12,000 feet…we definitely felt the altitude here!
After making the walk back down toward Cusco, we had to stop for an Inca Kola (very popular in Peru, but not a cola at all…more like a cross between cream soda and bubble gum), and then eventually made our way to La Bodega 138 for dinner. It’s a short walk from the JW Marriott, and we loved it so much that we ate there twice! Excellent pasta, great wine selection, and prices are really reasonable.
DAY 3: DAY TRIP TO MACHU PICCHU
Machu Picchu is a must-do of course! Unfortunately, it’s not easy to navigate the trip from Cusco to Machu Picchu on your own. It’s definitely doable, but there are several steps, various tickets, and could be pretty confusing if you’re not fluent in Spanish. We decided to book this day tour through Kantu Tours via Trip Advisor, and it was well worth the price.
Travel Tip: be sure to pack sunscreen and bug repellent with you. I got a pretty bad sunburn at that elevation in just 2 hours, and the mosquitos are really pesky too!
We were picked up at our hotel around 6:30AM in a private car. We drove through the countryside for about 2 hours until we arrived at Ollantaytambo. It’s a very small little village where you’ll catch a train to Agua Calientes, which is at the base of Machu Picchu. Our train trip was with Peru Rail, and lasted just under 2 hours. There are some beautiful views along the way as you travel through the high jungle and along the river. The train does have a bathroom, and they serve a variety of snacks and drinks for purchase (they even accepted credit cards!),
Once we arrived in Agua Calientes, we were met by another guide that helped get us to the bus for the final leg of our journey up to Machu Picchu. The bus ride was a bumpy 30 minute ride to the entrance to Machu Picchu, where we met yet another guide that would take us around the grounds. Before entering, there is a bathroom that you can use for a small fee – be sure to bring cash! While not required, no one really tours Machu Picchu without a guide.
As you can see, it’s fairly crowded and chaotic getting in to Machu Picchu, but we were split in to groups of about 12 people and once inside they do a good job of keeping the groups spread out for most of the tour. Our guide did an excellent job, giving us all kinds of information about the history and culture, and took the time to take a ton of pictures for us. Just be sure to book your tour well in advance, because they do fill up. They say that this part of Machu Picchu will be closed to the public sometime in the next several years due to preservation issues, so if you believe it…visit soon!
We spent 2.5 hours in Machu Picchu. Our guide walked us out and then rode the bus back down with us. He recommended The Chef House restaurant to get a bite to eat. The food and drinks were really good, and we had an awesome view of the river from our table on the patio. We rode the train back to Ollantaytambo where our same driver picked us up and brought us back to our hotel. From start to finish, it was about a 14 hour day, but such a fabulous experience and well worth it!
If you’re not up for a long day trip like this, the other option is to travel to Agua Calientes the day before and stay at a hotel there. You could do a morning tour and then get back to Cusco that evening. Of course the other option for those that are more hard-core, is to hike the Inca Trail and camp along the way. It takes about 4 days and sounds pretty grueling (but amazing) from a number of people that we spoke with that did it!
DAY 4: RAINBOW MOUNTAIN DAY TRIP
This day trip was one that I debated over for weeks before finally booking. I had seen pictures of Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) and read all about it…it’s such a unique and beautiful place, but requires a hike up to 17,000 feet of elevation, and relies on good weather in order to see it. We ended up having a pretty clear day and survived the altitude (it wasn’t easy though!), so in the end I’m really glad we did it.
Rainbow Mountain is a very popular tourist destination, as it is fairly new. It had been covered permanently with snow up until 2013! It contains 14 different minerals that create these colorful striations in the mountainside.
We booked our day trip through Trip Advisor that was hosted by Mega Expeditions…you can only visit with a tour group. We were picked up at our hotel at 4:30AM. The small bus was totally packed and the road to the mountain base was very steep and windy…if you are prone to car sickness, be sure to sit in front. There are some great views along the way, including lots of grazing Alpacas which are fun to see.
It’s about a 3 hour drive from Cusco to the start of the hike. Our tour included a stop for breakfast on the way there and lunch on the way back at a “local restaurant”. The food was decent, but the breakfast was more of a makeshift restaurant for tour people only.
When we arrived at Rainbow Mountain, there were some shops and food stalls, plus a bathroom available for a small fee (again, be sure to bring cash and tissues with you just in case!). The hike is about 1.5 miles and 1,000 feet, and at this altitude it’s very intense. We had coca candies, plus we took our Diamox starting the night before, and took it really slow. It’s easy to get winded and we did get pretty bad headaches, but we made it! If you’re not up for the hike, you can rent a mule for a fee (cash only of course). In total, we had about 2-3 hours to make the hike up and back, with plenty of time for pictures at the top. It is crowded! There’s also a place to get your passport stamped if you’d like.
The clouds started to roll in as we neared the top, but we were still able to get some great photos and take in the amazing views all around. Once our group reached the bottom, we headed back to Cusco, stopping for lunch on the way. We were back at our hotel by 4:00PM.
We ate dinner near or hotel that night and did some final souvenir shopping. There are a lot of nice alpaca knits (sweaters, scarves, socks, hats) in Peru that I’d definitely recommend leaving room in your suitcase for. The next morning we were off to our next stop…Santiago, Chile!