mikelat

Thanks for the warning. I hadn't thought about the altitude change.
How 'bout this revised itin:
Day 1 - Arrive in the morning, stay in Lima that day & night with taking it easy
Day 2 - Fly to CUZ mid-morning, relax that day with a bit of sightseeing in town
Day 3 - Train to Machu Picchu and spend day there, return on 5:45 train
Day 4 - Fly from CUZ to LIM mid-morning, catch 11PM flight out of LIM back to SEA

I realize Lima is a bit higher, but I've never had problems going from SEA-DEN when visting friends. I'm hoping that I won't have any in Peru.

ludocdoc

On your timescale, that may be the best you can do. An exhausting trip to see one of the greatest sites on earth; too bad you wont have more time. There's much more to do in Peru also; maybe you'll be back...

TachOz

Actually, I'd recommend:

Day 1: Arrive in LIM, fly straight through to CUZ
Day 2: Relax in Cuzco, see some of the sights around the Sacred Valley
Day 3: Train to Aguas Calientes, bus up to MP, bus back down to AC, train back to Poroy
Day 4: Fly CUZ-LIM and back to SEA

The more time you have to acclimate in CUZ the better. An entire day would be better than just the afternoon. LIM is at sea level, there's no reason you need to acclimate there.

iahphx

I think I'm going straight to CUZ, too, but there's a guidebook author who swears that exactly the WRONG thing to do. Apparently the altitude in the Sacred Valley is lower, so you're less likely to get sick if you stay there first.

LAX_Esq

Can you squeeze in a couple more days?

Lima is seriously underrated. I'm absolutely glad I decided to spend a full day there rather than head straight to CUZ when I arrived at LIM, despite some of my friends telling me that Lima is a dump. The food was amazing and the city has a lot of character.

Seeing MP at sunrise before the masses of people taking the train to come for the day is also a treat. AC is truly a dumpy town, I think the best MP experience (aside from the Inca Trail) would be to come in the night before rather than trying to do it as a day trip.

MemphisQueen

I agree about Lima. I had a mere 3 days there and didn't feel like I had enough time. I definitely still need to go back just to see the Nazca lines, something time made me give up. But get to Cuzco as soon as you can - acclimatize, see the sights, and eat alpaca.

FWIW, I'm not a real photographer or even a good vacation picture taker, but I put up a slideshow of the Trail to show my fam (just the trail though none of the cities). There is a definite lack of photos due to sheer exhaustion every day, but here it is if you care to get an idea. And yes those lovely high tall steep mountains in the background aren't just there for pretty pictures - it's what you climb. The highest peak you climb over is almost 14,000 feet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VMKiN_P7H0

oh and i was always in the slow group - the last to camp, hence the song.

mikelat

Unfortunately I can't get any more days off from work during that time to extend the trip. I barely got clearance for this many days I'm headed down in Feb for a couple days just in Lima and then back in May for Machu Picchu. I see both as a sort of 'scouting trip' to explore a bit and then have a better idea of how long I'd go back for.

Well, I apparently mis-read the itinerary and I get it at 9PM, not AM. Whoops! At least all my eVIPs cleared and I'll be able to get some rest on the flights.

Here's my new plan:
Wed : Arrive at 9PM, find a good place for dinner and relax at hotel
Thurs : 9AM flight on Star Peru to CUZ, spend day in CUZ
Fri : Machu Picchu
Sat : 11AM Flight back to Lima. Spend afternoon in town, back at airport for 11PM departure.

I think I'm also going to talk to my Doctor about getting Diamox prescribed as it's supposed to help address altitude sickness.

mikelat

Is there a train that leaves for AC in the afternoon/evening? The only train I was aware of from CUZ left in the morning and returned in the afternoon. If I get to CUZ around noon is there a way to get up to AC that evening? Also, with you noting AC is a dump, would I prefer to just stay in CUZ?

remphish1

You can take a taxi from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo (1 Hr taxi ride..supposedly only cost $30 or so) and there is an evening train from there. That is what I am doing when I go in May

LAX_Esq

I think the previous poster is right: you have to take the train from Oly-- for an evening arrival in AC. It's not much less convenient than taking the train from Cuzco since the train goes pretty slow.

AC is a dump, but it has the benefit of being right near MP and you need to stay in AC if you want to see MP for more than a couple hours when all the big tours are there. But given that you won't be able to see much Cuzco as it is, perhaps you should spend the night in Cuzco rather than having to leave at 4 or whatever it is to get to AC for the night.

neuromancer

If you have very little time, I recomment the following:
Machu Picchu is much lower than Cuzco, at about 2100-2300 m altitude, and no need to acclimatize. So if you don't stay at Cuzco but go straight to MP (taxi to Ollantaytambo, then train, no walking, no strain), you'll be fine. There are much more trais from Ollantaytambo than from Cuzco, even in the evening.
Then after staying a day at MP you can go back to Cuzco and see what you want around, without need to accclimatize - will have more time and can arrange your time better with the main site seen at the beginning. I did that and did not have any problems with the altitude at all (don't know if it will work for you though).

mhnadel

Re: altitudes, Cusco is 11,200 ft. Aguas Calientes is about 6900 ft, with Machu Picchu at 7700 ft. Ollantaytambo is 9200 ft.

So it is actually better to go right to Machu Picchu and then to Cusco. I had a little more time and spent a couple of nights in Ollanta before going to M.P.

By the time I got to Cusco, I was reasonably well acclimated. But I remember feeling a bit light-headed when I first arrived at the airport there.

Diamox is said to help a lot. I, alas, can't take it since I'm allergic to sulfa drugs. The local drugstores sell quite a lot of remedies, most of which contain a mixture of stimulants. Avoiding alcohol is also said to be a good idea, but the pisco sours are too good for me to have followed that advice.

mikelat

I like the idea of being in AC, even if it is dumpy, and getting to MP before the tourist trains & groups. Does this look reasonable? I realize it's a bit rushed but hopefully I'll find some time to go back.

Wed : Arrive LIM at 9PM, find a good place for dinner and relax at hotel
Thurs : 9AM flight on Star Peru to CUZ, catch cab to Ollantaytambo departing around 1, Vistadome train to AC departing at 15:37, stay overnight in AC
Fri : explore Machu Picchu, train back to CUZ at 15:20, overnight in CUZ
Sat : 11AM Flight back to Lima. Spend afternoon in town, back at airport for 11PM departure.

LAX_Esq

Sounds like you'll get a good amount of time to experience Lima and MP, but really no time at all to see Cuzco. Perhaps it's better to have more time at 2 of 3 then rush everything the whole trip. Cuzco was nice, but really wasn't the highlight of my trip, so I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

ludocdoc

Lets have some altitude clarity here,, though. You live in SFO, at sea level or a few hundred feet above that. Yes, MP is at 7700 feet and Cuzco is at 11000. There may be no need to acclimatize from Cuzco to MP. However, it's hillly and you'll be hiking around on your feet all day, and you live at sea level. So the acclimatization is for YOU from sea level to the mountains. While Cuzco is higher, and you'll feel sicker there, your priority on the trip is Machu Picchu. So I'd say the goal for you is to spend time at altitude before your "money day" which is Macchu Piccu. Most people work their way to Cuzco over nearly a week, then descend for the big day into MP and have some semblance of the energy required to roam the site all day. For you, you only have 1.5 days in advance -- much advice is to spend as much of that time up high as you can.

Make sense?