Genuine Food & Travel Review

What to do in Peru?? There are so many things to do!

I had a fantastic time visiting for the first time. I will be uncovering roughly two weeks first time itinerary to Peru guide. My Peru itinerary 12 days could easily be extended to two weeks or more. Overall Peru infrastructure is still a bit lacking but there are plenty of ways to travel. I used Peru Hop for bus/guide service and it was great! Essentially its a flexible bus service that allows you to hop on and off the route and you can change your schedule very easily with a guide to help you. I would really recommend this service for those that is coming to Peru for the first time as it really helps simplify a lot of the logistics especially if you are not planning on flying between cities. The Peru Hop bus is safe and English/Tourist friendly.

Night 1 (Cusco) – Altitude sickness was real!!! I flew from Toronto to Lima then transferred right away to Cusco. The first night I was pretty sick. Very nauseous and wanted to throw up all night. On top of that I needed to wake up for the trek at 3AM. Not the best idea….. But in general there are plenty of day trip tours to do as well as walking around the town. However, I would advise giving it some time to rest and adjust to the altitude.

• Cusco Town – Walking Tour/Shopping/Restaurants

Night 2(Inca Trail/MachuPichu trail then sleep at Aguas Calientes) – Not my original plan but couldn’t find the tour on the next day so my fault for not planning better. I would definitely pushout the trek to be the next day. Need more time to adjust on altitude sickness. But this ended up helping a bit as the trek beginning point was actually much lower in altitude than Cusco.

Activity

I did a two days/1night Inca trail organized by AB expeditions tour. The guide and the group was amazing. The itinerary includes one day trek (difficulty is high I would say). I did survive and its my first full day trek up the mountain. The group that I was with consists of a 60+ years old couple so although it was not easy, we all managed thanks to the small group and the support of the guide 🙂 At the end of the trail, your last stop will be overlooking Machu Pichu where you can take the picture. However, you will enter Machu Pichu the next day. After the trail you will head to Aguas Calientes town via bus to stay for the night.

Aguas Calientes – Not much to do. Essentially a layover town for Machu Pichu. You can find a lot of souvenirs to buy in town.

Night 3 (Machu Pichu then sleep in Cusco)

In the morning you take the bus up to Machu Pichu. This is part of the 2 days Machu Pichu inca trail tour. You will have time for the guided tour then more time to walk around and explore Machu Pichu. Then you will take the bus down to Agua Calientes to meet up with the rest of the group for food and then head back to Cusco via train and the tour company van.

MachuPichu – Highlight for most that want to visit Peru. One of the new seven wonders of the world. Magnificent! I will let the pictures do the describing.

Night 4 (Overnight Bus from Cusco arrive in EARLY AM Arequipa)

Moray, Maras Salt Mines & Chinchero Weavers Tour

In Cusco during the day, there are many activities that you could do but I would recommend you going to see the moray and salt mines among many other things. It should take roughly half a day and I booked this day trip tour via GetYourGuide. Another popular visit is the Rainbow mountain (I didnt have enough time).

Then at 6pm I boarded the PeruHop bus for an overnight bus to Arequipa. The bus was very spacious and as comfortable as it could get for an affordable overnight bus. Majority of the people on board are tourists so language and getting around is not a problem.

Below was my bus route from Cusco to Lima and its stops. You can easily change your date via the app or just contact your guide if you wish to stay longer or leave earlier in any of these destinations with Peru Hop.

Night 5-7(Arequipa 3 nights leave super early morning)

Arequipa is a town full of history! If you have a lot of interest in the history of Peru this is a fascinating town to learn more and immerse yourself. This town still have a fair amount of tourists but less touristy than Cusco. I think its really a perfect balance for tourists to be comfortable with navigating but at the same time have an opportunity to interact with more locals. There are also guided tours in the area. I chose to do the Colca Canyon one day tour.

• San Camilo Market 
• Santa Catalina Monastery
• Walking Tour (I did food walking tour and historical tour)
• Plaza de Armas
• Cathedral Basilica of Arequipa (I didnt have the chance to go inside)
• Colca Canyon Tour

Night 8 (Nazca/Huacachina)

I left super early around 5:30AM and head toward Huacachina. We also did a quick stop at Nazca to take some pictures. I wouldn’t recommend staying here unless you are super interested in Nazca activities, better to stay in Huacachina in my opinion.

HuacaChina – If you are able bodied and don’t mind a bit of height and speed I would recommend doing the buggy and sandboarding. No, you do you don’t need to stand or any experience in sandboarding or boarding of any kind, you just lie on your belly on the board. However, please do be careful as I have met people who got injured in the process as it is minimal supervision. Overall Huacachina is an oasis in the middle of the desert and absolutely beautiful. Its also known for partying as there isn’t much else to do at night. If you are tight on time one night here is enough as you can do the buggy and sandboarding during the day.

Night 9 (Paracas)

From the desert you are now staying by the water. The main attraction that you must see is the Ballestas Islands You get to see Sea lions and penguins!! Another attraction would be Paracas National Reserve with the highlight at the red beach! Overall you should be able to cover everything in Paracas two days one night.

Night 10-11 (Lima)

My last stop before I head back home is Lima. Lima has also tons to do. I would recommend in general for visiting any new cities to do a walking tour. you can use website like https://www.guruwalk.com. It is a free walking tour that you only pay via tips. I found the walking tour to be a great way for you to get to know the city and also sometimes meet new people in the process. Lima is the capital city of Peru so plenty of night life if you are into it also many great scenery, graffiti art and museums for you to check out. It is also known for its amazing food scene!

Suggestions/Variations

• If you have an extra time, I would definitely add a few more days in Cusco. There are many other tours that I couldn’t get to and would love to explore the city more. It will also allow me to rest a bit more for altitude sickness. For example I didnt get to go to Rainbow Mountain
• For those of you who are hiking enthusiasts consider doing a longer multiple days of Inca Trail alternatively you can also check out Salkantay Trek. These are done with a guided tour company with porter help and food provided. Research in advance as these will cost quite a bit and will require multiple days (4-5days).
• Another town that I skipped is Puno by Lake Titicaca. This is also an option that is offered through Peru Hop but I didn’t have enough time to fit in my schedule.
• In term of the logistics, I started off my journey at Cusco and worked my way back to Lima to fly home. Alternatively, you can start in Lima and ended in Cusco to fly home. This alternate path may also help with altitude sickness as you continue to gradually climb the altitude in Peru especially if your home town is not very high.

Source: Pictures from google search..

Thank you all for reading! If you have any suggestions or comments, would love to hear about your own experiences in Peru! It was a fascinating country with a rich culture and beautiful nature. Really enjoyed my time in Peru and would love to go back again.