A general itinerary including Lima, Cusco & the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca. Plus some tips and tricks that helped us on our trip here!

Lima, Peru

Ollantaytambo, Peru

Machu Picchu, Peru

Pisac, Peru

Peru

Cusco, Peru

Lake Titicaca

Sacred Valley, Peru

14 Days in Peru

Miraflores District! We stayed in this district both times that we were in Lima and couldn't recommend it more. There's a beautiful walking path right along the cliff and you can find some amazing parks. It's a safe area of Lima and there are quite a few tourists. 

As always, our favourite way to explore a city is by just walking around. We spent most of our time in the Miraflores district. We'll break down attractions based on the neighbourhood of Lima that you can find each one, just to make it a little simpler. 

One thing we really wanted to do but weren't able to was paragliding. When walking along the coast in Miraflores, you see so many people paragliding. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions in 2021, you couldn't do a tandem paragliding lesson. One day we'll go back and get to try this!

Honestly, we'd recommend another day in Cusco or Lima instead of going to Lake Titicaca. We debated over whether or not to even include it in the itinerary, but since it was a stop on our trip in 2021, we thought we'd share it with you along with our honest opinion: this place is a tourist trap. 

Yes, the floating islands are cool and the lake is insanely large. But you have to pay for someone to boat you out to a floating island. You have to pay an entry fee before you make it to one of the towns. Once you've made it to a floating house, the family that lives there gives a presentation on the history of the islands as well as gently encouraging you to buy souvenirs. (It's really hard to say no since your boat has now left you and there's no way off the island and all that's standing in your way back is a $5 keychain and $7 magnet). 

We love Cusco! This city is amazing and will make you question your level of physical ability as you huff and puff to make it up a single flight of stairs. 

PRO TIP: Get yourself a Boleto Turístico aka tourist ticket. You'll need to do a bit of research to see which one you want, but it will give you a single use ticket to most of the sites in the Sacred Valley. You will need your passport information if you purchase it in person. It doesn't include entry to Rainbow Mountain, Machu Picchu, or the Salt Mines of Maras. 

After exploring Machu Picchu on day two, you'll get on the train back to Cusco. 

Then, because your boat driver has left you and not come back, the only way to get off the small island is to pay for a traditional boat ride, so you float around for 20 minutes only to come back to the initial island to see your boat driver waiting for you. Keep in mind, everyone involved in this endeavor will also expect tips. It takes several hours and my favourite part was the boat ride through the reeds before you even make it to the islands. 

Unless you live at a similar altitude, spend the first 2-3 days just acclimating to Cusco. We spent most of the time on our first day wandering around the historic downtown and just getting used to the city. 

We flew from Lima to Cusco, and had the hotel send a taxi to pick us up. The Lima airport is one of my favourites--it's super easy to get through security and you don't even have to take off your shoes! 

Pisac! This was our favourite stop in the Sacred Valley. 

Our hotel gave us directions to get to a taxi stop, and we decided to take a colectivo (shared taxi) to save a few coins. It was super easy to figure out...just wait at the stop until a van full of people shows up and make sure they're stopping at Pisac. This is where it helps to be able to speak Spanish. Once you're on the taxi, good luck. We thought we were gonna die as the driver whipped around blind corners, crossed lane lines with abandon, and seemed to regard speed limits as a waste of time. We did make it to Pisac in one piece, thank heavens. You can also take a local bus or just hire your own taxi. But these are much less exciting options :)

Pisac is such a cute and quiet town, with meandering streets and very talented street vendors. Take a walk around town and then hike up towards the entrance to the ruins. You will need your passport and your boleto. 

I purchased a small table runner from this local artisan. She had larger quilts and decorative blankets, but unfortunately only took cash and I didn't have that many soles on me. 

Pisac Market: this local market tends to be a bit touristy, but there are some good deals on souvenirs as well as a few stalls selling produce. 

You can do this on your own, the way that we explored Pisac, but we decided to book a tour as a more expedient way of seeing other sites along the Sacred Valley. 

We chose to get off the train in Ollanta after Machu Picchu instead of returning to Cusco so we could try a traditional meal called a pachamanca. What's incredible is that even though we took an extra day and were going to make our own way back to Cusco, Sam Travel sent a driver to get us after our meal and take us back to Cusco. Cannot recommend them more!

After several hours in Pisac, we caught another taxi and headed back to Cusco. 

This was a wee bit of a tourist trap, but we did enjoy some of the sites as well as learning more of the history of the region from a local. We booked a tour from Salkantay Trekking company (link below) and they organized everything, which was nice. However, we wouldn't do this if we came back to Cusco. We prefer a bit more activity and this was basically just driving around the Sacred Valley and then getting out for 20-30 mins at each attraction. 

▷ MARAS SALT MINES AND MORAY TOUR Full Day

Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

We chose to do a short 2D 1N trek to Machu Picchu. Part of this was just due to time constraints and wanting to experience other places in the Sacred Valley as well as not wanting to commit to a backpacking group trip while COVID was still very much an issue. 

We enjoyed this a lot, as you do get the experience of hiking down from the Sun Gate in to Machu Picchu and you get to see some Incan ruins along the trail without the camping and mosquito bites and altitude sickness. 

We booked with Sam Travel (link below) and again, everything was organized by them. It was super easy and as long as you attend a pre-hike meeting the night or two before, everything runs smoothly. They picked us up pretty early in the morning, but our hotel was kind enough to pack a little bagged lunch and breakfast for us. Then, we drove to the town of Ollantaytambo to take the train into Aguas Calientes. With this short trek, you get off just before the town to start your hike. 

14 Days in Peru

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