Introduction

Peru was always high on my bucket list and I’m glad I was finally able to go! Once I found a cheap deal, I jumped on it. There’s a lot to do and I want to go back because I barely scratched the surface. The cuisine is amazing and you’ve got to try the local dishes (like pisco sours, lomo saltado, and more). Lots of great historical sites to see as well besides Machu Picchu!

In terms of getting around, Uber is very affordable in Peru. If you’re feeling adventurous, I would recommend taking the bus and downloading the app Moovit to look up the schedules. Also make sure you have change (roughly 2-3 soles) and ask the driver if the bus is headed in your desired direction!

Also, be careful while walking around. I wouldn’t say I felt unsafe but there are many panhandlers trying to get you to eat at their restaurant, buy their product/tour, etc. Also, be sure to carry some change! Cards are used but some places still only use cash. 

Overall, I enjoyed my time in Peru and would highly recommend it as a destination!

 

Nature

• Parque Alfredo Salazar Southwell
  
• Love’s Park 
  
• Parque Antonio Raimondi
  
• Kennedy Park - the park is filled with super cute cats that volunteers take care of on a regular basis. You’ll see them eating or roaming around! Walk around the park, see the street vendors, and partake in some dancing as you also go into 7th of June Park.

 

food

• Restaurant Huaca Pucllana - we had fried ceviche, pork belly char Siu, arroz con pato, pisco sour, lemonade, chocolate and lucuma sphere. Everything was amazing but the highlight was the arroz con pato and the dessert. 
  
• Raiz Coffee - We had an almond croissant, orange matcha, and mocha which was all really good! The orange matcha tastes more like orange though. 
  
• Punto Azul - This restaurant had very tasty seafood. We had the fish ceviche and the fish wonton, which were both spectacular. There was a wait when we got to the restaurant, but it went relatively quickly.
  
• CHURROS SAN FRANCISCO S.A.C. - amazing churros and worth the wait. 
  
• Shimaya Barranco - the place has pretty cheap Japanese food by American standards, but it’s only average.
  
• KUK Bread Bowls
  

 

Attractions

• Huaca Pucllana Site Museum - this site is pretty cool since it shows the history of Lima and the ruins itself, but I thought everything looked the same. You could save 15 soles by taking pictures of the outside.  
• Bridge of Sighs​

 

CUsco & Aguas Calientes

Cusco recommendations:
Attractions

• Apukunaq Tianan
  • This is a pretty cool historical site. We did this ATV tour on Airbnb which was an experience in itself!
• Cuzco Main Square
• Cusco Cathedral
• Sapantiana Aqueduct
• Twelve Angled Stone
• Plaza San Blas
• Church and Convent of Santo Domingo 
• Plaza Regocijo

Food

• Rucula Peruvian Restaurant - We got the ceviche, traditional alpaca and the seafood rice which were both super tasty!
• Organika Restaurant - a very cute brunch spot. We got curry, grilled octopus and trout with native spices. The octopus was absolutely stellar and chewy! We also got the tiramisu as well. 
• Limo - this place was very good, highly recommended. We got the limo, black miso trout and the lomo saltado Nikkei style. All the dishes were amazing! 
• Mercado Central de San Pedro - The market has a lot to see and lots is being sold there, along with a good assortment of food. I would recommend haggling!
• Mercado San Blas

Nature

• San Blas View Point - the view is very nice but it is a trek! Be prepared for a lot of uphill climbing. 
• Mirador desde el Cristo Blanco - this is the superior viewpoint with a big Jesus statue but it’s more stairs than above

Aguas Calientes recommendations:

• Incontri del Pueblo Viejo
• Supertramp Hostel
• Chullos Restaurant & Craft Beer
• Manco Capac Square

 

MACHU PICCHU

Introduction
Your journey to Machu Picchu will start at Cusco, where there’s a LOT of ways to get to MP in the end. I’ll only talk about the way I followed. But to get a holistic glance of all the ways, I recommend looking at this link or doing an organized tour via the Inca Trail, etc. since we planned this out entirely ourselves. 

The first thing to do is to secure your Machu Picchu tickets by going to this link. You should be planning this at least a few months out, since tickets go quickly. There are multiple circuits you could choose when buying your ticket, and I recommend Circuit 2 since you can see the most things with that circuit.

After securing your tickets, then you should buy your train ticket on Peru Rail or Inca Rail. They’re both kind of the same, but some offerings may have a bus + train service vs a direct train service. The direct train will be more convenient!

I don’t think there’s a point in staying at Aguas Calientes for too long, but you may want a day to rest and relax before Machu Picchu the next day. Also, I found the food to be average. Things are also more expensive there because it’s literally in the middle of nowhere. There are lots of nice places to stay though, with some very affordable options. I also think you don’t necessarily need to stay in AC overnight and could do MP in 1 day if you wanted to. 

So our final plan was that my girlfriend and I took the train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, stayed overnight, did Machu Picchu, and then took the train back the next day. Overall I would have liked to hike the Inca Trail, but what we did took only 2 days at most and we still saw Machu Picchu!

​The journey
The start of our journey was relatively straightforward. We got to San Pedro Station in Cusco early, and we were directed to the train after a passport check. When the train arrived in AC, we just went to our accommodation and relaxed for the day. 

On the day you go up to Machu Picchu, there’s two ways up: the bus or hiking. To take the bus, you’ll want to head towards this point where there will be signs with your Machu Picchu time (link to trail here). You’ll want to get in line under your correct entry time. Around 30min out, they’ll start checking your tickets. I recommend buying your tickets online or the day before to save time. 

If you choose to hike, start walking towards this point on Google Maps, and then signs will show you the rest of the way. The hike will be 1-1.5 hrs of straight uphill, so make sure you have lots of water before you start. There will be a passport and ticket check before you start. If you’re a little late to your entry time, that’s perfectly fine - we were told there’s an hour grace period from your start time. At Machu Picchu, the path is only one way around whichever circuit you choose, so you just follow the arrows. They also check your passport before you go in, so don’t forget to bring it. Take your time to take it all in!

Contents

Introduction
Nature
Food
Attractions
Cusco Recommendations
Machu Picchu
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Buenos aires

sao paulo

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