Lima, Peru: Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. I went this past May with a "climbing" buddy (he climbs while I listen to him talk about climbing), and it was the perfect time of the year to visit the national park- dry and relatively uncrowded. At first, I mistakenly thought that a hike to Machu Picchu (MP) required a 4 day trek from Cusco (known as the Inca Trail), but later learned that there were many other ways to see the ruins that better fit our time constraints and budget (the mandatory Inca Trail tours start around $600 USD for students). Here is the full itinerary my friend and I used to explore Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Day 1

• Arrive @ Lima at night
• Dinner @ Punto Azul. Make no mistake, you will have the best ceviche of your life in Lima and Miraflores is the barrio to hit up (cabs from the airport's taxi stand charge 50 soles ea way). Great first meal and introduction to ceviche in Peru. 

Day 2

• Flight from Lima to Cusco. Since Cusco is on a higher elevation, it will be super cold in the morning and at night during the winter season-prepare accordingly.
• Buy tickets to Machu Picchu National Park @ Direccion Regional de Cultura (Av de La Cultura 238). You can also purchase tickets online (recommended if you want to hike Huayna Picchu since there is a admission cap).
• Take a colectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo (2 hr drive. We used Real Inka and paid 10 soles ea). A note on colectivos- these van shares are an inexpensive, local way to travel. Technically the operations are illegal, so finding these stations can be a difficult and dodgy process in Cusco. Hecklers will be aggressive, but ask them first to identify their company name before getting in a van.
• Train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes via Perurail (about 1.5 hrs)
• Check in hostel (since we had a good experience I'd recommend Sol de Oro; Calle Chaska Tika 84, Machu Picchu. Private bathrooms, breakfast at any requested time, really reasonable prices for the location) 
• Buy shuttle tickets (drives you from Aguas Calientes to the entrance to the park)
• Dinner @ Indio Feliz. Best place in the city. In general veer away from dishes with raw products as the local tap water isn't safe. 

Day 3

• Board shuttle for MP
• Hike Machu Picchu Mountain, explore ruins, Inca bridge and the Sun Gate. Plan to spend the whole day in the park, it's worth it to see the sunset (can't say the same about the sunrise). Speaking of which, they'll start kicking you out at around that time; so to take advantage of the prime lighting, you'll want to start from the outskirts of the ruins (near the Inca Bridge) which allows you to take copious amounts of pictures of the ruins while heading slowly to the exit. Bring lots of water and a few snacks. The hike itself is really tough because of the huge altitude range- it took us 1.5 hrs to ascend, 40 min to descend (which includes many, many breaks). Use sunblock and get your passport stamped!
• Dinner @ El Indio Feliz

Day 4

• Train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytamba.
• Colectivo from Ollantaytamba to Cusco (the station is easy to find- right next to the train station). 
• Check in hostel. 
• Explore Cusco. Some highlights include: Inca Musuem (charming, small, and mostly in Spanish), Mercado Central de San Pedro (had lunch at the food stalls of the food court section- definitely check it out). 
• Dinner @ Uchu Steakhouse. Friends highly recommended Quinoa, but they were closed (we probably went too early), so we went for steak. You can try Alpaca there if your heart so desires. 

Day 5

• Flight from Cusco to Lima 
• Lunch @ Mi Barrunto (best ceviche we had on our trip)
• Explore Lima. Highlights include: Barrio Chino (aka Chinatown. This was the most bizarre, culturally confusing experience ever- definitely check it out), Mercado Central de Lima (a must see, if not for the aisle of hanging dead chickens, then for the group of fans crowded at the meat market's tv watching futbol), Cathedral of Lima, and the San Pedro Church courtyard (wait for the flock of birds to circle around their perch). 
• Dinner @ Tanta

Day 6

• Early flight from Lima to Boston