LAN PERU 2035 LIM-CUZ
Economy (Y)
Airbus 319
Scheduled: 11:40 AM / Actual: 11:40 AM

Soon our tour took us to Cuzco. I had read lots of stories about the Cuzco airport so I was eagerly looking forward to our flight. We had booked this air travel part of the tour separately. I had attempted to book on www.taca.com but had lots of difficulty completing the transaction, and lots of two tier (Peruvian resident only) fares. In the end I gave up an booked on LAN Peru via their website.

The boarding for the LAN flights was quite organized chaos. The LAN check-in desks were separated into National flights (South American flights) and USA. Check in was mandatory using a kiosk, then a line up to weigh and drop the bags. LAN was strict on the bag weight and I had to remove a ski boot to come under the 50 lbs limit. The lines were everywhere with people cutting in for no particular reason to only 3 check in agents.





The flight itself was a quick hop lasting almost an hour. We got a small snack box and a drink.







The approach into Cuzco was neat as the plane flew into the valley and banked a large left turn. The baggage area was a small two or three belt area designed for smaller aircraft so it was a little chaotic was we collected our bags. Security was quick with no delay and no immigration as it was a domestic flight.

Cuzco & The Sacred Valley:



Central Cuzco itself was a wonderful little city. I had expected a really touristy town, but it did keep some of its charm. We stuck to the touristed areas and ventured around to some ruins outside on day tours.







The Ollantaytambo Ruins were a highlight – fabulous ruins in the Sacred Valley that you could spend an afternoon exploring. No railings with a long drop down so watch your children!





Machu Picchu:

The highlight was Machu Picchu itself. We stayed in Aquas Calientes overnight, which is the closest town to Macchu Picchu and was able to catch the site after all the day tours had left. I’d highly recommend this for anyone who wants good pictures as seeing it at sunrise and sunset with different weather made for a memorable experience.









Cuzco has many ruins around the area and similar to the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza, the main attraction of Machu Picchu seems to steal all the thunder. We spent some time checking out the smaller ruins as well, which was neat to see.

I call these guys and girls "The Guardians",