4 Days in Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley and Cusco
We decided to go to Machu Picchu without securing a ticket online so we wasted day in Aguas Calientes. I will pen down what we did in the 4 days but will also recommend alternative that I would have done otherwise if I had purchased my Machu Picchu entry tickets online. Regardless, every encounter and trip is an experience like never before. This is my second time there and it was a totally different affair from the first.
Day 1 - Flew into Cusco from Lima and journeyed to Machu Picchu, arriving at night
We took Sky Airlines from Lima to Cusco arriving at 11.30am. Our plan was to have lunch and walk around the old city until 4pm as our bus to Machu Picchu departs at 4.45pm. As the train to Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) does not allow large check-in luggages but only small hand carry ones, the first thing we did was to take a taxi, booked via Uber, to store our luggages at Selina Plaza de Armas Cusco which we found via the Stasher App. The rates were highly affordable and it is just 20m off Plaza Mayor de Cusco, the main square in the old city. You can consider staying at the same hotel where you store your luggages if you’re exploring Cusco on return but since we had no tickets to Machu Picchu, we could not decide our plans yet.
In about an hour upon arrival to Cusco, my partner started to have altitude sickness, craving for sweets and got lightheaded so we went to get some coca leaf sweets next. They sell that in most travel stores or convenience stores so you won’t have trouble finding it. Chewing on the coca leaves is more effective in my opinion but it’ll be bitter so you can consider that too. Cusco is 3,399m above sea level and of the both times I’m there, I experienced altitude sickness so be warned.
We had our lunch at an unassuming Mare Restaurant near the plaza and was pleasantly surprised with the food which were aesthetically pleasing and delicious. Whilst it didn’t have a nice view, I recommend this place for an affordable, delicious and fuss free lunch/dinner. You can read my posts on the places I recommend to eat or have coffee at Cusco and Machu Picchu in this blog. We went on to walk around Plaza Mayor de Cusco for a short while and went to Flora Cafe for a view of the city with some very nice dessert and drinks before taking a taxi to the Wanchaq Bus Station. We booked PeruRail Expedition 75 for US$58/pax departing Wanchaq Bus Station at 4.30pm, which took us through to sacred valley, connecting via train at Ollataytambo to Aguas Calientes.
As we did not purchase our tickets online, we headed straight to the Ministry of Culture to queue for our tickets upon arrival. Read more on the details on how to purchase tickets at Machu Picchu in person.
Day 2 - Queuing for our ticket and spending time in Aguas Calientes
This blog post contains details of how we woke up at 4.30am and spent the morning queuing for a queue number to return in the afternoon to buy the tickets for the next day entry, since we did not manage to secure a ticket for “today” when we arrived “last night”.
Aguas Calientes is a very small town that sits at the bottom of Machu Picchu. It is where your train ride stopes and you take the 20min shuttle bus up to the entrance of the Incan City. It wouldn’t take you more than a day to go to the following places.
Themal hot spring at the end of the little town
Visit Mariposario, the Butterfly Garden
Take picture at the town square with Pueblo statue and close to the train station, the Machu Picchu sign
Visit the Mercado de Artesanias
Through our stay at Aguas Calientes, we ate at a couple of resturants but would only like to recommend Green House, more details and pictures found in this blog.
We also spent some time in the hotel booking our flight out of Cusco and it was very expensive at short notice and so I’d like to reiterate to secure your entry ticket to Machu Picchu and plan this trip well.
Day 3 - Machu Picchu, Ollataytambo, Sacred Valley
We bought the tickets for 6am entry to Machu Pichhu and that was the best decision ever. The shuttle buses work continuously so you don’t have to wait long before the next bus arrives. It only matters how many people are in queue. We left at about 9.30am and returned to Aguas Calientes by about 10am, went to Rupa Rupa High Jungle Eco B&B to retrieve our luggages and went to the train station, all in good time. This time around, we booked the 10.55am PeruRail Vistadome Observertory ticket which cost us US$125 from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo to have a difference experience and I personally don’t think there’s a need to spend that money if you’re thinking of it, no doubt it is a nicer cabin, with snack pack, cultural dance and a quartet playing jazz music, a fancy observatory deck and better service.
We arrived at Ollantaytambo, walked to the city square, had lunch at Don Dante and grabbed an Uber to our accomodation in the Sacred Valley. The Ollantaytambo ruins is one of the destination included in most Sacred Valley day tour from Cusco but we skipped that as what could be better than Machu Picchu, right? After two nights of stay in a rustic hotel in Aguas Calientes, I decided to spend a little bit more for my night at Sacred Valley and booked for Sierra Sacred Valley, Urubamba. Giving credits to the owners who were friendly, rooms were clean and beautiful (that’s why I booked it) and the 5* reviews, it was a small establishment with no facilities and even more disappointing, no nice view of the valley. There were also plenty of mosquitoes in the room and we didn’t have a good night’s sleep. On my previous visit to Sacred Valley, I stayed at Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel and Wellness and would recommend the following few luxury hotels that I spotted while driving around the area (Be sure to search accommodation at Urubamba as this town is enroute back to Cusco):
Day 4 - The Maras Salt Mine, Moray Incan Ruins, Chinchero Village, Cusco
The pick-up from our hotel in Sacred Valley was at 10am and we booked a private taxi on Taxi Datum for US$60 to take us back to Cusco as we had luggages and would like to visit some destinations along the way back. I asked multiple transport companies and this is the most reasonably priced. They also have transfer service in Lima which we found out from their website and their rates are good so I highly recommend them.
We visited The Maras Salt Mine, Moray Incan Ruins and Chinchero Village and got back to Cusco about 3pm. The drive through the Sacred Valley and these places had some of the nicest views of the Andean mountains as well. With the same taxi, we picked up our luggages from Selina Plaza de Armas Cusco and checked into Montes Central Hotel, which was adjacent to the popular Three Monkeys Cafe. We then took a cab out of the old city, into the new city of Cusco to have our meal at Cusqueñísima Picanteria and although the new city an eye opener for me (I always thought Cusco was just the old city), I should have stayed within the old city as the return journey took us over an hour. The final evening in Cusco saw us strolling down from one of the highest viewpoints in the city starting from Cafe Sancris down to Plaza Mayor de Cusco and having a very good dinner at Campo Cochina Andina.
Day 5 - Departing Cusco
Our flight was about 11am and we asked the driver which we booked from Taxi Datum to pick us at 8am.
Recommendation for ideal itinerary for regular travellers (non-hikers)
To book your Machu Picchu tickets online - 6am tickets for your preferred route
Day 1 - Arrive to Cusco and head straight to Machu Picchu, arriving around late afternoon ideally. Buy the bus tickets, walk around the town or the market and have dinner at Green House.
Day 2 - Pick up your breakfast at 4.50-5am (hotels there usually prepare a take-out pack) and reach the bus station at 5.30am. Spend about 3 hours at Machu Picchu and return to Aguas Calientes to pick up your luggages. Splurge on a nice hotel with spa facilities and services, pool and a good view at the Sacred Valley. Take an early afternoon train (11am-1pm departure) to Ollantaytambo or Ururamba so you can arrive at your accommodation during check-in time of about 3pm and enjoy your stay till the next day.
Day 2 - If you are on a budget, explore the rest of Aguas Calientes, including going for thermal bath and take an afternoon train to Ollantaytambo to explore the Ollantaytambo ruins, the little town and stay in more basic hotels near the square like Hotel Casablanca,
Day 3 - Book a private taxi to take you to various places on your way back to Cusco. Depending on what you like to see, here are some locations to consider: Chinchero, Maras, Moray, Ollantaytambo and Pisac
Day 4 - Spend the entire day exploring Cusco and join a cooking class