Cusco and Aguas Calientes were the last two cities we visited during this 10 day trip. We saved the best for last since Machu Pichhu is in Cusco. Most backpackers land in Lima and fly out immediately to Cusco then work their way down. However we wanted to save the biggest part of the trip till the end. Our thinking was how are we going to top Machu Picchu with everything else we saw. You just can’t top it!
I want to talk about altitude sickness for a bit. Yes this happens and it is normal. Everyone I talked to in Cusco got sick. Cusco is the highest part of this Peru trip. Cusco is situated at 3,400 m above sea level. Give yourself a couple of days to get use to this altitude. Please do not land in Cusco and immediately start trekking to Machu Picchu. We took about 2 days to acclimatize. Since we were slowly going up in altitude as we moved through Peru, we didn’t get that affected by it. Some symptoms of altitude sickness are headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, vomit, diarrhea, loss of appetite and tiredness. I repeat please take a few days to get used to the altitude as this will most likely happen if you are not used to this altitude. My stomach was definitely not happy the whole time I was in Cusco.
We arrived in Cusco in the early morning, our hostel provided breakfast so we had breakfast and planned out the rest of the trip about 4 more days. There is a ton of tours that take you to Machu Picchu. It is up to you how you want to get there. You can do the Inca Trail (this is the most famous hike). This is usually a 4 day hike. You can take a train from Poroy to Aguas Calientes ( about 3.5 hrs). We decided to take a van to Hidroelectrica (this is the beginning point of the hike to Aguas Calientes) and from there hike up to Aguas Calientes. This was the most affordable tour we found that also allowed us to do some trekking. The tour we got included transportation, lunch, accommodations in Aguas Calientes and a tour guide through Machu Pichhu. Because we had already booked our own accommodations, they discounted that out of our price. There are also tours that are just transportation just to Hidroelctrica. It really is up to you.
The tour guide picked us up from the hostel at 4 am. From there we waited for the van that was going to take us to Hidroelectrica. An hour later it arrives and we embark on our 5 hrs drive. This was a rough ride, the roads are bumpy and curvy. If you get carsick I highly recommend that you take motion sickness medicine!!! You do not want to be the person that throws up the whole way there. We had a girl do this on our trip, she was so pale 2 hours into the trip I thought we were going to have to go a hospital. Also try to take some snacks as there are very few stops on our way there. We Arrived to Hidroelectrica at about 3pm maybe 4pm. We had about 3 hours of daylight to get up to Aguas Calientes. Our hike up took forever or what felt like forever. I think we made it to the town about an hour before it got dark. The hike itself wasn’t too bad it was just long and we had our luggage as well.
Once we arrived and settled into our hotel, all we had time to do was get dinner and get some sleep. Our tour guide informed us that we needed to be up at the entrance of Machu Picchu no later than 6 am. Once again we were up by 4 am the next day to start our trek up to Machu Picchu. There we are standing in this huge line at 4:30 am surrounded by everyone that is willingly and enthusiastically climbing up. This hike was tough but definitely worth it. Because it was still dark outside, we needed to take some flashlights with us to begin the hike. It was dark and all we knew was that we had to be there by 6 am. We took about an hour and 40 min to get there. Once there you find your group and go inside and you are there. The hike is totally worth every sweat drop. Machu Pichhu is the most amazing and peaceful place I have been in. Pictures definitely do not do it justice.
After Machu Pichu we had a few hours to get some food and some rest. We decided we were too tired to hike back down from Aguas Calientes to Hidroelectrica, so we took the train. It was worth every penny. We didn’t have to rush to get down and the train itself its actually really nice. Once back to Hidoelectrica, we hoped into the van back to Cusco. Spent that last night in Cusco. The next day we flew back to Lima and then Atlanta.
This was roughly they itinerary I followed to see as much as I could. This included a lot of pisco sours and ceviche, sand-boarding in Huacachina, horseback riding in Arequipa through the Andes Mountains, Short trek at Colca Canyon, hiking to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. I skipped the Nazca lines and lake Titicaca as it was not possible to fit in 10 days. The whole trip was done under $1200 including flights, bus tickets, hostels, food , activities, souvenirs, and random things. This trip was amazing and I cant wait to plan the next trip.
