My wife and I are planning a trip to Machu Pichu and the Galapagos and are looking for recommendations on two issues:

1) The relative merits of taking the Hiram Bingham versus the Vista Dome train.

2) The relative merits of staying one versus two nights at the Sanctuary Lodge.

Any other suggestions most appreciated.

Don;t hurry the high altitude part of your trip at all. It takes time to acclimate yourself so you can have full enjoyment. It is a wonderful place to see. Awe-inspiring.

Hi Jim! How are you planning on spending your time at Machu Picchu? What time of year? We spent two nights in Cusco acclimating, then one more night in the Sacred Valley & then caught the Vista Dome train up to Machu Picchu. Our tour group was active and did fairly long day hikes in and around Machu Picchu, so two nights at the Sanctuary Lodge were wonderful. If we'd been just visiting the ruins, one night would have been enough. Hope that helps. We haven't made it to the Galapagos yet, but Machu Picchu was one of the best places I've visited yet. Cheers, Anne

Anne:

We plan to spend the first three weeks of February visiting Peru/Machu Picchu and Ecuador/Galapagos Islands. After an initial day touring Lima, we'll spend two days in and around the Sacred Valley. Any opinions on the Hotel Monastario versus the Liberador in Cusco? What is the hiking like around Machu Picchu and what hikes did you take (guided v. unguided)? Any comparisons of the Vista Dome versus the Hiram Bingham? We then spend another day in the Sacred Valley before flying to Quito.

Jim

Anne:

Should mention that we are working with Susan at B & K on this itinerary which will include a one week cruise on the M/V Galapagos Legend - one of two ships recommended by B & K.

Jim

Jim,
When we did Machu Pichu prior to our Mariner cruise in January of this year, I would recommend staying in Lima two nights upon arrival before heading to Cuzco. We flew in the early morning to Cuzco and were met by a guide who took us to the Sacred Valley with some interesting stops along the way (Pisac, Cultural farm, Olitambo etc). By doing this, we did not have to go from sea level directly to Cuzco at 11,000 ft, but instead dropped down to the exquisite, beautiful Sacred Valley at 8,000 ft. I loved the sacred valley and wished we had stayed longer than the one night (perhaps two to three). We took the Vista Doma from the Sacred Valley. It was nice. The Hiram Bingham did not pick up from the Sacred Valley stop - only from Cuzco. In Machu Pichu, the train arrival is around noon allowing you time to visit the site with a return the next morning before catching the 3:00p.m. Vista Dome back to Cuzco. There was a lovely 'fashion show' on the train during our return. We stayed in Machu Pichu because we enjoyed wandering the town. After our arrival we spent three nights in Cuzco. By then we were acclimated and could do the tours to the various sites with ease. On one of my tours there were brand new arrivals from Lima who went on a grueling tour. They could barely get through the tour. You will love your trip. We have yet to do the Galapagos. I am envious of your trip.

dd:

Thanks. At the moment our itinerary is as follows:

Two nights in Lima followed by two nights in Cusco followed by one night at Machu Picchu followed by two more nights in Cusco. Cusco will be our base for visits to the Sacred Valley (Ollantaytambo, Inca Fortress, Orihuela, Chinchero, Pisac, Awanakancha, Sacsayhuaman, etc). Any more recommendations. How far is the Sacred Valley from Cusco? Did you stay overnight in the Sacred Valley or take day trips from Cusco?

Hi Jim!

Check on weather re: February to make sure you're out of the wet season. We had friends who went over new year's and had the road to MP wash out halfway up to the lodge. They had to walk up with luggage. It's like walking up the side of a cliff. We went for the June solstice period and it was the dry season.

We stayed at both the Libertore (on the way out to MP) and the Monasterio (on the way back from MP) in Cuzco. The Monasterio was about twice the $$ of the Libertore. More convenient location to the main Plaza des Armas in Cuzco. Public areas beautiful; we needed to change rooms twice before we found an OK one at the Monasterio (smoking when we asked for nonsmoking and it reeked; mattress WAY too soft). Libertore was fine as I was expecting a 3 to 4 star hotel. Cheap internet cafe nearby and about a 6 block walk to the Plaza des Armas. I think you have to stay at the Monasterio if you stay at the Sanctuary Lodge.

We also did Pisac and Ollaytambo in the Sacred Valley and loved them. We tried the chi-cha (corn beer), fresh boiled corn at the Pisac Sunday market and saw the tribal chiefs arrive in full gear for Sunday mass. The church has beautiful murals ala Diego (?) from Mexico. The Sunday market was great. We caught the Vista Dome from Ollaytambo's stop. They take you up to the railroad tracks & the locals set up their own handicraft markets.

In Cuzco, we enjoyed the knitted finger puppets of animals (about 3 for $1). Several children will come around in full dress with animals; pictures are around $1 each. It's worth it. We got one with three children; one holding a llama and a little boy with a parrot on his head. It was great.

On the opposite end, the seminaria ceramics factory is near the Sacred Valley; we had a tour and shipped some stuff home with no problem. It's beautiful. Carlos Chaquiras has two stores with his silver works in Cuzco; how I wish I had purchased one of his icons. I'm actually going to go back if, for no other reason, that to get one of those works of art. I purchased several pairs of earrings and wear them all the time. He has a website (you can find it on google) if you want an idea of what to expect. I think the earrings were around $60 to $80 per pair and the icons were in the range of $500. We visited 3 years ago.

The other place in Peru that blew our socks off was Ica and the flyover of the Nacza Lines. We haven't yet made it to Ecuador outside of Manta on the Mariner but intend to add that one to our not-too-far-off travels.

Machu Picchu is among the most remarkable and best places we've visited in our lives. Have a wonderful time! If you have other questions, I'll try to answer. Cheers, Anne

Anne:

Very helpful. Perhaps you can return when you visit the Galapagos! Thanks. What was the hiking like in and around Machu Picchu? Would you - did you do it on a guided or unguided basis?

Jim

Hi Jim - we were traveling with a local anthropology professor and he arranged the local guides. There were about 20 in our group ranging in age from 30 to 75. 10 did the longer hikes; about 10 did shorter hikes within the ruins (ie, the walk to the natural bridge was around 45 minutes each way). Both of the longer hikes were guided; the shorter hikes were unguided. It was well, well worth doing but you have to be in reasonable shape to do them successfully.

The walking in the site itself is moderate - some steep areas but well traveled paths. The initial tour was about 3 hours. Lots & lots of steps. If it's rainy or wet, add slippery to the conditions.

There are spots in both of the longer hikes where it is so steep you go down backwards and some areas that required care. The hike up to the sun gate to the waystation is more difficult and was about 7 hours round trip. There's one section where you have to go through a opening over a wooden bridge wasn't long but required a lot of care. The hike up & down the bigger of the two mountains that is within the park (the one that is on the right of all the pictures you see with the ruins in the foreground) was about 2-1/2 hours round trip. Very steep sections, especially if you go all the way to the Temple of the Moon. Getting down is trickier than getting up. It would be easier to do that one unguided as there is a steady stream of hikers as opposed to the one on the waystation.

Miscellaneous other things:

It's possible to get your passport stamped at the main entrance to the ruins. We were glad we took the time to do this.

The prevalence of the alpaca knitted goods: Cuzco has a wide variety of choices. You can get high-end manufactured goods near the Monasterio that are very stylish and pricier. As dd noted, the style show on the Vista Dome home will give you a preview of the higher end alpaca and vicuna products. If you want that sort of thing, you can also pick it up at good prices as the Lima airport.

On the other end, you can also find a cooperative of hand-knitted products in a few of the stores for $35 or so. We were advised to look for baby alpaca rather than alpaca as it is softer. If it's hand=knitted, check it carefully. We found some of them had uneven sleeve length, etc while others were works of art. We were advised you could rely on the labels for accuracy as to baby alpaca vs. alpaca.

Friends of ours found a handmade candle shop with lovely goods in Cuzco. They bought several items and have enjoyed them.

We were offered a 10% discount for paying cash (in soles) vs. using a credit cards. Our ATM cards worked down there with little difficulty in Cuzco & Lima.

Watch your purse, etc. as you would in any large city. We found in most places that if we didn't have exact change, someone from the store would run off to the central "banker" in the market, get change and come back within 5-15 minutes. We were a little surprised the first time this happened but we received our change every time.

Go into the cathedral in Cuzco (it's on the Plaza des Armas). Their depictions of the Last Supper have a distinctly Incan flavor.

Guinea pig is the national delicacy (local language is coy). Not terrible, not wonderful. If you're in the sacred valley, you may see the local people keep pens of guinea pig inside their houses. That's where they raise them.

We loved the Peruvian people we met. They are gracious, cheerful, hardworking and so very proud of their country and heritage. They love to show you their land and are delighted that you're there.

Lima tends to be very hazy - it gets 4 inches of rainfall a year. The clearest times of year are when you'll be visiting. Miraflores and San Isidro are the touristy areas.

There's a great Incan market in Miraflores so you can pick up souvenirs if you so desire.

Enjoy! Anne

Anne:

Thanks for the excellent information and your suggestions. Have pushed back our trip to April to avoid the rain. We want to do some hiking and found out that the wet season lasts from November through March. Your hiking comments were especially helpful. Perhaps I can return the favor should you visit the Galapagos.

Jim