On the way to Cusco from Arequipa not only is the landscape stunning – its so green with rolling hills and blue lakes, but it’s also very high and we got our first taste of being at altitude. Our first top at Laguna Lagunillas was over 4444m above sea level – that’s higher than Cusco, La Paz and the highest point on the Inka Trail! We tried some coca tea which although tasting like grass, seemed to help. Make sure you buy something when you stop here because they rely fully on tourism so any small amount you can spare will be appreciated. I’m not sure if they get that many tall blonde girls around there but a couple of the locals wanted a picture with me – who am I to deny them that!

Around 2 hours before getting to Cusco, we stopped in Marangani for lunch. It’s a tiny place in the hills, lovely views but nothing really here! They put on a whole buffet lunch which is nice and only for 30 soles. We arrived into Cusco at 6pm and were dropped at our hostel, Wild Rover – after having a very tame first couple of weeks we were ready to party!

Our first night in Cusco didn’t really end up being the big night we had hoped for as there was an open mic night on at the bar… saying that, the bar was full and we did have a few drinks, but it was bed at 11pm for us!

The next morning we woke up early and had a coffee and a croissant on the bar’s balcony overlooking the city which was quite a nice way to start the day. Once showered and presentable, we walked down to the main square (Plaza del Armas) and through to the San Pedro Market. Our Peru Hop guide had recommended the market for cheap authentic food, especially for breakfast. Right at the back of the market are loads of little breakfast stands – we got an omelette sandwich and a coffee each and it was 20 soles! Would highly recommend. We actually ended up going to back to the same lady (Epilania) for lunch as when we were there in the morning, a person on the table behind us suggested we try a butifarra – this is basically a pork sandwich, 100% get one of these when you’re in town.

We spent the next couple of hours wandering around the town and at 3pm we did the free walking tour with the hostel – there was only 3 of us but the tour was really good. The guide showed us all the original Inka architecture throughout the city, explained about their gods and the Inka kingdom and the impact of colonisation. At the end of the tour he took us up to Limbus Restobar for a Pisco Sour. This restaurant/bar had fantastic views of the city (and delicious Pisco!) and we would have never found it on our own.

After the Pisco’s we were feeling a bit tipsy so jumped in an Uber back to the hostel with the other girl on our tour and headed straight to the bar – you get a free mixology class at the hostel (by this I mean you make 1 cocktail stood around a table) but it was a free drink so we took it, we made Moscow Mules.

We spent the rest of the evening in the bar, playing killer pool and the pub quiz. Eventually we decided to head out into town with a couple people from the hostel and went to a club called Changos. This place was my worst nightmare – horrible music, horrible drinks and it was so loud – I only lasted about 20 minutes before I announced I was going home, so boring I know. The walk back up to the hostel was so steep and with the altitude (and the alcohol) we passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

After our ‘crazy’ night (asleep by 1:30am), we had a lovely long lie and only left the hostel to grab breakfast at JC’s Cafe. The food and coffee here did the job and the portions were huge! I needed another lie down after my Heuvos Rancheros. We used the rest of the day as an admin day and had dinner at Los Toledo’s Chicken – they give you a huge rotisserie chicken and chips. We then had a super early night as we were up at 2:30am the next morning for our Rainbow Mountain hike.

Rainbow Mountain

Rainbow mountain is one of the must-do activities when in Peru. Unfortunately due to land disputes in the area, the hike is a lot shorter (1 hour compared to 3) and the drive longer (an extra 40 or so minutes). It’s a long day, you’re up at 2:30am, on the bus by 3am and get back around 3pm, but it’s so worth it!

We went with a company called Rainbow Mountain Travels and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. The reason you start so early is so that you are the first ones up the mountain so you can get great pictures, all food (breakfast and lunch) and entrance fees are included – some operators charge you for these bits in addition to your initial price. The food was great, they put on a huge buffet and it acts as a half way stop on the drive there and back.

Rainbow mountain gained its named from the numerous colours visible due to the various minerals it’s made up of. It’s really pretty and you get get some great photos from the top. You can also get pictures with Llamas/Alpacas and get your passport stamped. The hike itself is only 45 mins-1 hour depending how fast you are but it is at a high altitude, you start at around 4000m and end at around 5000m. Your guide should have some altitude sickness medicine but if you know you’re prone to feeling ill, brings some extra!

That evening we went to ‘Tacomania’ for dinner, its a bit of a wierd one as they also have an Indian restaurant within this Mexican but the food was good and cheap, which is what we were looking for. Although we were shattered from our 2:30am wake up, we popped by Republica del Pisco for one. This was probably one of the best piscos we’d had so far (although probably one of the most expensive as well). The food here also looked great and it had a cool vibe, we had been told it gets rowdy at night so it’s definitely worth a visit.

Even though I said I wasn’t going to, I ended up in the hostel bar that evening. It wasn’t a late one but I drank enough to end up singing Eminem during Karoke and Lewis sang 500 miles by The Proclaimers, how predictable.

The next morning we had a really nice coffee and breakfast at Macchiato, did some laundry (Cusco is a really good place to do laundry – cheap, fast and there are so many places) and went to the Inka Museum. It’s only 20 soles each for the museum and it’s pretty old-school but I think it’s worth a visit if you’re in town. It’s huge so you need at least 2 hours if you want to do it properly. Don’t expect flashy displays but its interesting to read about the Inka history, its amazing what they achieved for a civilisation that apparently only lasted a couple hundred years.

After the museum we went and got a fresh juice from the Jugo Ladies at San Pedro market – Lewis was desperate to try Maca, a natural energy powder, and it was actually quite nice with orange juice. The rest of the day was spent getting organised for the Inka trail as we were heading off in the morning. For dinner we went to a cute pizza place just down from the hostel called Allin trattorias, we we’re quite rushed though as needed to race back for our pre-Inka trek briefing.

Side note: I would like to point out that ‘Inka’ is how you spell it in Quechua and ‘Inca’ in English, so both are right!

Cusco Summary

• Length of stay: 4 nights pre Inka trail, 1/2 nights after (9-10 nights total)
• Where to stay: Wild Rover if you want to party, Tucan if you want to chill (remember you can go to Wild Rover even if you’re not staying there!)
• Itinerary: Day 1 & 2- Free walking tour, San Pedro market for breakfast, explore the city & acclimatise, Day 3 – Rainbow mountain, Day 4 – Inka museum, chill/prepare for your hike, Day 5-8 – Inka Trail, Day 9/10 – Relax & recharge

Puno

We got the overnight bus from Cusco to Puno, arriving at 5:30am. Let me tell you now, absolutely nothing in Puno is open till 9am so my advice is to book the breakfast with Peru Hop – it’s your standard breakfast, bread, eggs, jam butter & coffee and its relatively cheap.

The main thing to do in Puno is visit the Uros floating islands on Lake Titikaka (Titicaca in English). The lake is the highest navigable lake in the world (3800m above seal level) and is divided between Peru and Bolivia by a pretty arbitrary boarder created in the 1800s (it used to all be Peru) and it’s name means green (Tiki) puma (kaka). The Uros islands are 100% man-made from reeds. Apparently the locals decided to live on the lake to avoid taxes and the authorities in the general and no one really seems to mind! There are a couple of options for tours of the islands but we went for the 2-hour option as it started at 6am, right after we’d arrived, and we’d booked a small lodge on the islands themselves as there isn’t much in Puno itself. The tour was basic if I’m honest, so it really depends on what you’re looking for, but we went to 2 islands, learned bout how they built the islands and spoke to some of the locals.

Once we were back from the tour, the son of the family who run Aruntawi lodge, Eddie, came and picked us up on their boat. Eddie and his family were lovely and helped us get to and from their island and made all our meals. Our room at the lodge was massive! We were so surprised, it had 2 huge beds, a dining table, sofa, bathroom and 2 terraces. The terrace out the front had a day bed and 2 lounge chairs with a lovely view of the lake.

As we were pretty tired from the night bus and as we’d done the 2 hour tour in the morning, we spent the whole day relaxing on the terrace in the sun, reading books, napping and playing cards. At 1pm the mum made us lunch which was quinoa soup (don’t knock it till you try it!), trout and more quinoa and then fruit. In the evenings it gets super cold on the islands so we headed inside until dinner. Dinner was much of the same but they gave us hot water bottles for our beds which was really sweet! That night we got into our huge bed with our hot waterbottles and passed out. They had maybe 6 layers of duvets on the bed so it was like being under a weighted blanket and it was so dark and quiet on the island – it was such a good sleep.

We were up early again the next morning as our bus to La Paz left at 8am from the mainland. It was finally time to leave Peru, Bolivia here we come!

Puno Summary

• Length of stay: 1 night if you have time, otherwise continue to Copacabana or La Paz
• Where to stay: On the islands. There are lot of small family-run lodges (look on Booking.com) and you can also do a home stay through Peru Hop if you prefer
• Itinerary: Day 1 – island tour and chill!
• Top tips: You can skip Puno if you’re short on time but if you do stay, definitely stay on the islands. Also, bring sun cream… the UV index when we were there was 11 and you’re at a high altitude, you will burn.