Most Inspirational Moment
Every day was interesting in its own way, but the first view of Machu Picchu has to be the highlight. We were lucky enough to see it with the sun shining and spent around 5 hours there. It gave us plenty of time to take the 2 hour guided tour as well as walk around the site and also hike to the sun gate. Highlights also included the wildlife on the Belestas Islands, The Nasca lines and driving through the Andes.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Sebastian was great. He was very attentive and gave us a thorough briefing each evening about the following day. Everything was effortlessly organised from luggage porterage to boxes of water on the bus to refill our bottles during our days at altitude. He was always available and didn't overload us with too much information. There were also local guides used who were also very good.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If this is your first visit to Peru and you want an alternative to the Inca trail then this is a fabulous tour. It gives a large variety of sights and experiences that you would not see if you were trying to do this yourself. The drive from Lima to Cusco via the Nasca lines gave us the advantage of climbing through the mountains to a higher altitude gradually rather than flying direct to Cusco, I found adapting to the higher altitude much easier this way.
Most days had an early start, this meant that we were on the road when it was cooler and reaching many sites before they were busy, we would arrive in most cases in the afternoon at the next destination, giving you a bit of relaxation time before dinner. A lot of the day is spent in the bus, but I still believe that I saw much more of the country this way and it was a relaxing way to travel with the scenery always changing.
The boat ride across Lake Titicaca in the afternoon was a little rough and I would recommend taking travel medication to Peru with you if you think it may be a problem.
The hot springs during the Colca canyon part of the trip is a must do. It was 15 soles entrance (about £3).
Nowhere in Peru accepts US dollars. The only trip you can pay for in USD is the flight over the Nasca lines. My suggestion to you is to take Soles with you. I took a mixture of both soles and dollars and found that I didn't need to US at all. food is around 20 - 40 soles for a main course and we very rarely had a lunch stop, other than to buy snacks (eg crackers, bread, crisps, soft drinks) I budgeted for around 70 soles a day but often didn't spend anywhere near that amount.
At Lake Titicaca it gets very cold in the evening, take a hat, scarf and gloves with you. If you forget then you can buy them very cheaply in Peru from one of the numerous market stalls.
