view – THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE

Exploring Lake Titicaca

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Lake Titicaca is a giant lake that straddles two South American nations: Peru and Bolivia. Apart from its funny name, Lake Titicaca is also famous for its people that live on reed islands (literal man-made islands from reeds). How radical is that!?!

Top Tip for Lake Titicaca:

Take some time to explore at a slow pace. I was in such a rush on my trip moving between too countries overland without really enough time to do so but in the short time I spent on Lake Titicaca I realised its one of those places where the details are what’s important! Everything you see is pretty cool until you really look closely and see how many different and incredible ways reeds are used for everything.

Where to stay:

I didn’t stay overnight on Lake Titicaca (except on the shores of the Lake in Copacabana, Boliva) but if I was able to go back a Homestay on one of the islands is a popular choice and would be a really good option. Alternatively, You can book on booking.com.

Getting there and away:

Lake Titicaca is one of the stops on Peru and Bolivia Hop – a perfect combo of a tour group, a hop on hop off bus and an intercity bus! You can visit Lake Titicaca on both the Peruvian and Bolivian sides with this company and they even help you cross the border. See my post here raving about Peru Hop as to why this is a winning combo.

Getting around:

Most locals travel on reed boats but there are also ferries to various islands. On the Peruvian side you will find lots of small reed islands and on the Bolivian side you can take a ferry to the very large Isla del Sol. If you head down to the water I assure you you will find somebody willing to take you onto the lake for a fee.

What to bring:

Wear a warm jacket! Lake Titicaca is pretty high altitude and you cannot rely on it being warm. The day we went was grey, rainy and freezing.
I’m not sure why you would but don’t wear heels – I can’t imagine them going down well on the reed islands and on Isla del Sol you will need to do lots of walking.
Bring your passport – on the reed islands there is a little passport office where you can get a tourist stamp on your passport.

What to expect:

Expect to have an authentic, local experience and not DO anything. On the Reed islands you will be invited into a local house to ask questions and buy souvenirs (if you want) and get an opportunity to hop on one of the reed boats. On Isla del Sol the best activity is to lap up the sun and take in the beautiful views from all over the island.

So what are you waiting for? Book a flight to explore Lake Titicaca now!

Erika xx

Itinerary: 1 day in Copacabana Bolivia

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This is the lesser known Copacabana – not the bustling suburb in Brazil but a tiny little town on the shores of Lake Titicaca, nestled between Peru and Bolivia’s capital La Paz. It’s a part of Bolivia that doesn’t quite fit with the land-locked; poor, grimy, busy, superstitious image of the rest of the country. Instead, it makes you feel like you are at a seaside resort (admittedly a budget one). The blue of the lake can be seen from most of the town, the houses seem bright and cheery and you can take a ferry from here to La Isla del Sol – ‘The Island of the Sun’ which definitely sounds like a place I want to be!

GENERAL INFO

Getting there and away: Copacabana is one of the stops on Bolivia Hop – a perfect combo of a tour group, a hop on hop off bus and an intercity bus! See my post here raving about Peru Hop as to why this is a winning combo.

Accommodation: The best place to stay is La Cupula – It’s very pricey for Bolivia but worth the splurge. You can book La Cupula on booking.com. La Cupula also has pet Alpacas which is definitely reason enough to stay here.

Food: The restaurant at La Cupula is pretty good. Also we had a basic edible meal at a little hut down by the water.

Getting around: You can walk from one end of the town to the other in about 20 minutes so theres no need for any other forms of transport. If you want to head over to La Isla del Sol you will need to take a ferry. You can organise this through Peru hop or your hotel.

Top Tip: There is not a whole lot to do in Copacabana except unwind and relax. Stop here to take some time to recharge. There are some easy hikes, lots of fresh air, quiet to read and sunbathe. If you head over to La Isla del Sol there is even less to do.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Copacabana has a charming little cathedral that houses a black madonna (the patron of Bolivia). Its an interesting walk through town to visit.

The is a great little hike up Cerro El Calvario. Its only about a 30 minute walk to reach the top and its very steep but you have great views over Lake Titicaca from here. Its a popular walk with locals too so the track is quite busy.

Feeding the Alpacas at La Cupula is one of the best things to do here! Get a bag of food from reception but watch out as these Alpacas are very greedy. They provide tons of entertainment.

The main thing to do in Copacabana is to take a boat to La Isla del Sol. Its about a 1 hour boat trip to the island and there is a fee to visit the island (You can take the Bolivia Hop boat at 2pm and the island fee is included. This boat leaves from the White Anchor). From the Sun Temple where the boat lands, you can take a leisurely one hour walk to the small island town of Yumani to get back on the boat at around 4pm. Alternatively you can choose to spend the night on one of the accomodation providers on the island. Check booking.com for options.

So what are you waiting for? Book a flight to explore Bolivia now!

Erika xx

Vinh Hy Bay: A Photo Essay

In my family’s 3 week trip to Vietnam, the majority of the photos we took were in our 3 days in Vinh Hy Bay. Not only is it a serenely beautiful part of the country but it also has a unique rural and cultural charm as its off the tourist radar. We were lucky to have a wonderful guide who had the knowledge of a local but the eyes of a tourist (a German who has been living in Vietnam for many years).

If you would like practical information on visitng Vinh Hy Bay please see my post Planning a trip to Vinh Hy Bay here .

If you would like some more information about some of the places you see pictured above, read my post Itinerary: 3 days in Vinh Hy Bay here.

View of fishing boats moored in Vinh Hy bay

Bridge leading into Nui Chua National Park

Raglai community in Nui Chua National Park

Erika xx

Must See Spots in Peru

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Peru is a great place to visit as many of the key tourist attractions are so close together! If you need some more Peru inspiration to convince you to visit I suggested taking a look at my Sacred Valley Photo Essay.

As always – I suggest booking your accomodation through Booking.com – I find it always has the widest range of options, best deals and plus you can support me indirectly by booking through them.

Here are the locations that I consider must-sees:

Machu Picchu

You cant take a trip to Peru without seeing Machu Picchu. I don’t even need to explain how magical this place is and in fact I can’t – you will just have to take my word for it and go and see for yourself! See my post of Visiting Machu Picchu for more info!

Arequipa
Arequipa is on my list not because I have been there and loved it but because its the one place in Peru I DESPERATELY regret not going to. I usually make peace with the fact I can never fit in everywhere I want to go but I really regret not visiting Arequipa. It will be my first stop next time I get to visit Peru.

Rainbow Mountain

A mountain that looks like a Rainbow – how much more of a spectacular view do you want? Visiting Rainbow Mountain is like travelling to another planet. See my post on Visiting Rainbow Mountain to see what I mean!

Paracas

Paracas is views for days – beautiful orange cliffs and sand. It feels like you are in a desert but it’s the beach instead. Paracas is also the location where you can take a boat to see the Ballestas Islands which are filled with wildlife and often referred to as the poor man’s Galapagos. It’s also only a stones throw from Lima so super accessible.

Huacachina

Huacachina is a backpacker’s dream. It’s a tiny little town just outside Ica, built around a beautiful lake oasis surrounded by desert. It’s overrun with tourists BUT the location is pretty cool and you can take a tour into the desert top speed on 4WD dune buggies and then go sand-boarding down some mega steep dunes. Plus, the town has some major nightlife (like other backpacker hotspots) so after you have had your adrenaline rush you can party all night.

Cusco

Cusco is visited by almost everyone that goes to Peru as its the most convenient jumping off point for the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. However, its a charming town in its own right and worth spending some time enjoying its cool mountain air, wandering its cobblestone streets, visiting its museums and finding surprises around every corner. See my Itinerary: 6 days in Cusco and the Sacred Valley to see how you can fit in some time in Cusco itself into your itinerary.

The Sacred Valley

Visiting the Sacred Valley is like stepping back in time to the ancient world of the Incas. You can see towns and villages that are little changed from these ancient times and examples of the ancient civilisation at its height including the way the farmed, lived and prayed. See my post Visiting the Sacred Valley for details on how best to visit this rural valley.

Lake Titicaca

The Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca is home to a group of people that live on islands made out of reeds. They travel on amazing reed boats and almost everything on every island is made from reeds. You can take a day trip out to one of the islands or stay overnight! When we went it was really bad weather but still so fascinating to see how different the lives of these people were!

Nazca

Many people believe that the Nazca lines were created by Aliens or were made with the purpose of communicating with aliens. If that’s not enough to peak your interest – then I don’t know what is! Nazca is in the middle of Peru so its pretty out of the way to get to but Peru Hop can help with that. The town has viewing platforms and a small airport from which you can take a 1 hour flight on a small plane to fly over all the Nazca lines (yes that is how big these things are – you can only see them properly from the air.

The Amazon via Iquitos

The Peruvian Amazon is just a small part of the Amazon jungle but its relatively easily accessible and well-set up for tourists (Well as well as the Amazon jungle can be set up for tourists!). We stayed in Treehouse Lodge, a unique treehouse in the canopy of the jungle and spent our days in a boat on the Amazon river wildlife spotting. See my post Itinerary: 3 days in the Peruvian Amazon for more info on visiting.

I hope I have inspired you to visit more of Peru and see what this welcoming country has to offer!

Erika xx

Itinerary: 3 days in Vinh Hy Bay

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Vinh Hy Bay is a local paradise in Vietnam. It’s relatively unknown to international tourists unless they are visiting the insanely luxurious Amanoi Resort. I didn’t think anywhere in Vietnam could be off the beaten track but Vinh Hy certainly was! We started off our journey by travelling overnight in one of Vietnam’s sleeper trains (7 of us sharing a cabin on a cramped overnight journey – myself sharing my narrow bed with my 2 month old baby in her travel bassinet) which definitely felt like the start of an adventure and a bit of a change from our last few days getting room service and lounging by the pool in our 5 star hotel (It was great! Click the link to book!). We wanted to go somewhere that tourists don’t usually venture and Vinh Hy bay sure did not disappoint. See my Vinh Hy Bay Photo Essay for inspiration to venture off the beaten track.

Because Vinh Hy Bay is a little off the beaten track there isn’t a whole lot of information available online with practical information about your stay. Therefore, I have provided some useful details in my post Planning a Trip to Vinh Hy Bay to help you plan your visit.

Otherwise, please take a look below for some insight into all Vinh Hy Bay has to offer!

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Ninh Thuan Rock Park

This is a gorgeous walk and viewpoint covered in..you guessed it. Rocks. Such picturesque rocks EVERYWHERE. The standout is the end of the short 20 min walk which comes out into a clifftop view of the ocean. There is also a little swing for the perfect photo op! There is nothing to do here except relax and enjoy the view but I hear there’s plans for a cafe in the near future.

viewpoint at Ninh Thuan rock park overlooking the ocean

Nua Chua National Park

About 15 minutes from Vinh Hy Bay you will find Nui Chua National Park and you can cross a suspension bridge to wander a local ethnic minority (Raglai) village situated inside the national park. From here you will then walk through the forest experiencing the fresh mountain air. Doai Vegetarian Restaurant is a short walk away via a peaceful stream and interesting flora and fauna. Stop for lunch (if you have booked in advance) or a cool drink.

village children in Nui Chua National Park

crossing a stream in Nui Chua National Park

Visit a Grape Farm

This area of Vietnam is known for its grape farms. Not wineries. Grape farms. We visited one in the Thai An valley. All you can see is vines for miles around but then you can find man-made holes along the edge, duck underneath to come out underneath the vines and the grape farms have set up little plastic tables. They produce a grape liquor which you can taste test along with grape cordial for the kids and they serve these along with lots of grape snacks. My kids were in heaven with all these free taste testers and the novelty of the child size location where the adults have to duck under the vines. The sealed bottles make for good souvenirs.

Walk a rocky pathway to a hidden beach

At the northern end of Vinh Hy bay the road abruptly ends and there is a hidden pathway covered in spiky cacti and branches. To walk along it you need to scramble over rocks and slip and slide down loose dirt. You come out on a little scenic beach with calm water good for swimming. Unfortunately a local business owner likes to take tour groups out here for lunch on a boat (and pretend its only accessible this way) so the path is not maintained or signposted but you can find it if you know what you are looking for.

Take a speedboat out around the bay

The scenery around Vinh Hy bay is best explored via boat. Taking a speedboat out allows fantastic views of the surrounding cliffs and hidden beaches along the coast. There are many little beaches here where you can swim and snorkel and relax in a beautiful part of the bay away from the fishing boats that sit in the water around the village itself.

Observe local village life around the bay

Vinh Hy bay has lots of winding narrow streets leading off the main street. Its in these quieter areas where most of local life takes place. We took some time to walk around and check out the market and the local homes and relaxed at the main square and playground where the village comes alive in the evenings.

Hang Rai Sea Cave

Hang Rai is an area of rock that has become a tourist attraction mainly because of a stunning picture a photographer took of water cascading over the top which is all over the internet. The funny thing is that the main part of Hang Rai actually sits far out of the water. Its a large rock you can climb on and see how it resembles the surface of the moon. The Hang Rai made world famous is actually a small coral reef area and rock to the left side of this one and only visible at low tide. Its also not signposted or obvious at all. The waterfall effect that looks so beautiful in the photograph is very difficult to capture as it requires being there at exactly the right time. The place is cool though and worth a walk through. There are some crazy looking rocks in this area. We didn’t have time to explore and see if we could view the other part of the rock but if you do I suggest bringing your togs! It looks like people climb right in and sit in the natural rock pools the tide creates here.

Next time I visit I would love to spend some time at Cam Lap Promontory also as this is nearby. Nui Chua National Park also has some good multi-day hiking trails but I wasn’t prepared to undertake this with young children in tow! I hope this guide has been helpful and inspires you to take the road less travelled on occasion.

Erika xx

Visiting Rainbow Mountain

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Rainbow Mountain is a new tourist hotspot in an area completely overrun with tourist hotspots. Why has it only become popular in recent years? Because it was only discovered recently! That blows my mind. Only around 10 years ago (sometime in the early 2010’s) the colours of Rainbow Mountain were discovered due to the reduction of snow around the area – a result of global warming.

However concerning the phenomenon of global warming is, Rainbow Mountain is one small positive to come from the changes we are seeing in this world – we have this new beautiful place to enjoy – so PLEASE DON’T RUIN IT!

For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Or you can see below for details on visiting this rainbow wonderland.

Top Tips for Visiting Rainbow Mountain:

Check the weather forecast before your trip The weather is very changeable and the mountain could be covered in snow! Most (if not all) tours will let you amend your tour day if you need to up to 2 days in advance. If you have the opportunity to you should build some flexibility into your trip for this.

Leave nothing behind! Although this should be a given everywhere you go -the carelessness of tourists was really obvious for me here as you need to travel so far into the mountains to reach Rainbow Mountain and despite the area having been completely covered in snow only 10 years ago we picked up a bag full of plastic rubbish on our way up to the mountain. Rubbish really doesn’t seem to be a huge problem at the tourist sites of Peru because places like Machu Picchu are so well-maintained and patrolled but Rainbow Mountain seemed to attract the kind of people that don’t seem to care about the natural environment if its not easy for them. I know you are half asleep and feeling the altitude sickness on this hike but common courtesy is still important. Also taking a bit of plastic back with you is not going to weigh you down.

Getting there and away:

I suggest taking a day trip to Rainbow Mountain – there are many tour companies who do this route and although it does involve a very early morning start there is no need to stay overnight in the area unless you want to camp and do some further hiking around the mountains.

We went with Rainbow Mountain Travels which was a great choice as they are the tour that reaches the mountain earliest – unfortunately this also means the earliest tour start at 3am (But its a 2 hour drive until your breakfast stop so you can sleep a little more in the van). As we were the fastest walkers in our group this meant that we were among 4 people who reached the mountain first and had plenty of time to enjoy its serenity (and take pics!) before the rest of the group and the other tour groups showed up.

Getting around:

Once you get there – you will need to walk. It’s not a long hike but take it easy as you are very high altitude here. You can also take a mule along the route if need be but they are very slow and will not get you all the way. You will still need to do the last little climb yourself. There is an initial platform for photos and then you can continue climbing right to the top.

The view from the highest viewpoint at Rainbow Mountain is phenomenal

Some tours will advertise a 30 min detour or extra trek to the red valley afterwards. The red valley is well worth seeing! However we just climbed straight up the side of the mountain next to Rainbow Mountain for killer views of the Red valley and enjoyed it ourselves (Our guide was nowhere to be seen – probably helping the stragglers) so I’m not sure where the 30 min trek or the extra fee came in to the equation.

Food:

Plenty of breakfast and lunch are provided by your tour so you don’t need to carry any food with you. However, I do recommend carrying some coca candy or something that helps with altitude sickness as Rainbow Mountain is very high up at 5, 200m above sea level. Also you definitely need LOTS of water. There is a snack shop at the start of the trail if you want to support the locals.

What to bring:

Water in a reusable bottle so you don’t leave anything behind
Lipbalm with sunblock
Coca candy (totally legal and won’t give you a high but these can help with altitude sickness).
A rain-jacket and warm layers that can be removed as you will get very warm when hiking.
Very comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots
Camera and Go Pro

I know the site has soo many pop-ups BUT I highly recommend buy everything you need for travel from Temu the prices are soo cheap and most of the stuff is really good quality (or at least as good a quality as you would purchase from another more expensive site).

What to expect:

Expect to be amazed that the photos you have seen are exactly what Rainbow Mountain is like! No clever editing here. Its so beautiful and unlike anything else you will have ever seen. Make sure you head to the very top for some extra views and to hike up to the view over the Red Valley also as its just as beautiful in my opinion.

Erika xx

The Sacred Valley Photo Essay

The Sacred Valley is a magical place where ancient history comes alive. Take a look at the photos below and be inspired to visit and learn about the civilisations that existed before us. For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Erika xx

Visiting the Sacred Valley

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

The Sacred Valley is the location of a fascinating world that you would not come across in everyday life. It is a lush green wonderland of treks, villages, ruins, agriculture, mountains and beautiful landscape in the interior region of Peru. The ruins of Machu Picchu are in the sacred valley but there is much more to do and see here and if you left your sightseeing to just Machu Picchu you would regret it!

For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley. If you are looking for tips on visiting Machu Picchu you can see my post here.

Top Tip for Visiting the Sacred Valley:

Get a guide! I usually like to steer away from organised excursions and do my own thing at my own pace but I also know when it just makes sense to have a guide. The Sacred Valley is one of those places! It is worth splurging for a private tour so that you don’t feel like a flock of sheep in this beautiful place and so that you can make your own decisions about where to visit but you really need a guide to explain what you are looking at and learn about the Inca culture as it is really fascinating history.

We arranged a guide through https://exclusiveinkatour.com/.

Where to stay:

It’s always best to check booking.com for the best accomodation deals.

Getting there, away and around:

You can take the Machu Picchu train in or out of the Scared Valley area, bus or get a private transfer from your guide. We took the train to Machu Picchu and then the train out to Ollantaytambo (a village in the Sacred Valley and the site of one of the ruins). Then our guide collected us from Ollantaytambo – taking us around the Sacred Valley by car before returning to Cusco.

The Sacred Valley is not walkable – except the ruins at Ollantaytambo are very close to Ollantaytambo town and you can easily walk to these if you are staying here.

Food:

The only location for food I can recommend in the Sacred Valley is the resturant at Ollantaytambo Train Station El Albergue. It is quite fine dining but they also don’t care if you arrive stinky and dirty and exhausted from Machu Picchu and its well worth a stop to work up the energy to walk back to your hotel. For other meals, your guide will be able to recommend stops that fit in with your schedule.

What to bring:

Comfortable walking shoes and comfortable clothes + a good camera!

What to expect:

Our route around the Sacred Valley took in the sites of Ollantaytambo ruins – Moray – Maras Salt Mines and Pisac ruins and market. We had already visited Machu Picchu the day before. This is around about the amount of places you can fit in in one long day in the area (with a transfer in or out). You will need a minimum of one full day for Machu Picchu on its own (either a day trip or including staying overnight in Aguas Calientes.

Ollantaytambo ruins were our first stop and these are located on the edge of Ollantaytambo town. You will need to purchase a Boleto Turistico here for Circuit 3 which allows access into Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Chinchero and Moray. Ollantaytambo has some temples, interesting ways of building to examine, a small climb through the ruins and then a beautiful view towards some granaries in the mountains and over the town.

From here, you can drive to Moray; this visit will take about 40 minutes and consists of 2 sets of giant crop circles. You will learn all about the amazing knowledge that the Inca had of agriculture and the purpose of the layered crop planting that you see.

The next stop of Maras is an above ground, outdoor salt mine that you will spend around 40 minutes at. You can view the beautiful pink, brown and white terraces, each of which is used for extracting salt and learn about the production process and the traditional salt mining practice still in use today. This stop is not included in your Boleto Turistico so you will need to pay separately.

A possible last stop is Pisac. There are ruins and a market here – you will find the ruins up a very high hill which can be incredibly windy. This is a large complex with a lot to wander and some incredible views. There is also a large market at Pisac.

If you can spend more time in the Sacred Valley you definitely should! We had a pretty tight timetable but it is a wonderful place to explore more. If you have the budget there is also an amazing hotel here where you stay in pods attached to the side of a cliff. You need to rock-climb up to the hotel and zip-line back.

Erika xx

The Ideal Da Nang Beach Vacation

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Even if you love adventure, sometime you just want to have a relaxing beach holiday and let the stress wash away. I found the best of both worlds in Vietnam – culture, sightseeing, food, adventure AND great weather, beaches and luxury.

Da Nang was the perfect place to stop and rest a few days to do nothing except chill out by the pool and beach and most importantly RELAX. My Khe Beach which runs a long way down the coast of Da Nang was rated by Forbes as one of the world’s most attractive beaches.

Top Tip for a Da Nang Beach Vacation:

Choose where to stay carefully – the beach here is beautiful and you can find resorts and hotels all along it however some are quite far away from anything else of interest. If you want seclusion this might be wonderful but if you don’t want to rely solely on your resort and hotel for everything you may want to find somewhere more central to stay.

Where to stay:

We stayed at Paris Deli Danang Beach Hotel but you can find tons of great options on Booking.com. Paris Deli has relatively affordable premier seafront rooms with bathtubs and Japanese toilets plus there is a daily included buffet breakfast. The hotel also has a rooftop pool overlooking the ocean.

We chose this hotel because it is across the road from the beach, has a nice pool and therefore a resort-feel while still being walking distance from many restaurants and bars and the Dragon Bridge.

Getting there and away:

Da Nang is a large city with a busy airport so its very easy to get here from any city in Vietnam. There are multiple flights a day from Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City. Da Nang Train Station also has trains travelling the length of the country.

Getting around:

We chose a hotel right by the beach as we wanted to be able to come back and forth from here with ease however if you are staying further away taxi’s and private drivers are readily available and affordable. If you would like to visit the river and the dragon bridge (the light show at 9pm on the weekends is a highlight) its only about a 30 minute relaxed walk from the part of the beach we stayed at.

Food and Drink:

Esco Beach – This beach bar was right across the road from our hotel and we spent a LOT of time here. Great cocktails, happy hour, an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, comfy seating and to top it all off they have a fire show most nights at 9:30pm with some amazing performers.
Moc Quan Seafood – This is a fantastic seafood restaurant very close to the beach but more of a local haunt with more reasonable prices. Expect to have to queue for a while – it can get very busy but there is lots of space inside. For those with kids they have a small children’s play area which is a bonus.
Paris Deli Danang Beach Hotel – If you are staying here the hotel food is actually quite decent and affordable so there isn’t much reason to leave! There is also no added surcharge for room service so go crazy and just order in. The Pho and the Club sandwich are particularly good.
Bladi Restaurant – This is a Moroccan restaurant which will suit you if you are a bit tired of the local cuisine. The food was excellent and the waiter was quite rude (entertainingly so). Its a bit pricey though with very small portions.
Mỹ An Garden Coffee – A very local and affordable spot for coffee. It’s a nice escape from the heat with a lovely little garden and pond.

What to expect:

Expect to do nothing and just see where the day takes you.

If you do need something else to do other than just spend time at the beach and in the city, there are some great day trips you can take. You could visit Hoi An (see my post here on Hoi An); Sunworld Amusement Park (see my post here on Sunworld); My Son Sanctuary or take a road trip around Son Tra peninsula.

Erika xx

Visiting Machu Picchu

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Machu Picchu is everything that you think it is and then more. I have always wanted to visit this magical place and I definitely feared that the hype would leave me disappointed. However, the whole place just feels magical even when it is crawling wth tourists or pouring with rain or covered with workers restoring the walls. It helps if you have a tour guide that can explain some of the more fascinating facts of the history of this place while you are standing there within the ancient walls.

For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Top Tip for Visiting Machu Picchu:

I believe the best way to visit Machu Picchu is by walking the 1 day Inka trail which involves 1 day of hiking to reach Machu Picchu and then 1 day spent exploring Machu Picchu. You can also just visit Machu Picchu for the day or do a longer Inka trail but I feel the first option has the best balance and ensures you have enough time at Machu Picchu itself.

Where to stay:

We stayed at Hostel Machu Picchu Land in Aguas Calientes. There is nothing spectacular here but Hostel Machu Picchu Land was clean, tidy, comfortable and cheap. All you can ask for really! It’s always best to check booking.com for the best accomodation deals.

Getting there and away:

The train from Cusco – Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu is the best way to travel between these locations. It also stops at KM 104 for the start of the Inca trail. You can book your journey on the train to fit around your plans at https://www.perurail.com/.

Getting around:

From the town of Aguas Calientes there is a bus that ferries tourists to and from Machu Picchu. It is possible to walk this route but it is long and hilly. Once at Machu Picchu your only form of transport is your feet and you will be doing a lot of walking so I highly recommend just taking the bus. If there is a long queue to get back down and you need to catch a train you can walk down to town in less than an hour.

Food:

Purchase some snacks in advance for Machu Picchu (as there are no places to purchase food within the ruins).

What to bring:

I suggest only bringing a small a small pack or day pack to Machu Picchu as you are restricted as to the amount you can carry on the train and particularly if you are doing the Inka trail you really don’t want to have to carry too much on your back. Here are the key items you should bring with you:

Water in a reusable bottle (for inside Machu Picchu as no plastic bottles are allowed).
Snacks
A change of clothing
A rain-jacket and a jumper as weather conditions can change very rapidly at Machu Picchu
Very comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots
Camera and Go Pro

What to expect:

Prior to your tour you will be asked to attend a briefing session at the tour offices. This is a great idea to make sure that the itinerary meets expectations and go through any health and safety requirements.

You will then be picked up early in the morning the next day to take the train to the start of the Inka trail. You will do 3 hours of hiking and then stop at the ruins of Winay Wayna. From here, you will continue on to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu – arriving in the afternoon. This is a great photo spot high above Machu Picchu which you are unlikely to have time to walk up to if you visit the ruins for a day.

Once you have walked down from the Sun Gate and taken a few pre-sunset pics of Machu Picchu (its very quiet in the late afternoon and a great time to get a few pictures in) then you will head into Aguas Calientes to have dinner and stay the night.

The next day, you will rise early again and queue for one of the first buses up to Machu Picchu (the first bus is at 5:30am). Once inside the ruins you will have an informative guided tour of the complex from your tour guide. Afterwards, you have the option to climb Huayna Picchu which is a very steep and strenuous 2 hour return trip rewarding you with amazing views. You will then have more time to explore Machu Picchu on your own before heading back down to Aguas Calientes to take the train out of town.

Erika xx

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