Monthly Archives: July 2013

Planning a Machu Picchu Day Trip from Ollantaytambo

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For us, Machu Picchu was the catalyst for planning a trip to Peru.  Although we later learned of Lima’s revered cuisine and the spectacular views in the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu is still the most important stop on our itinerary.  Accordingly, a lot of research and thought went into our ultimate plan for a day trip to visit Machu Picchu from Ollantaytambo.

Seeing Machu Picchu at sunrise was an important consideration in our planning.  Many visitors accomplish this by staying the night at Aguas Calientes (the town right below) the night before and catching the first 5:30am bus up to the site.  However, most of the lodging in Aguas Calientes is very expensive, and the town itself is described as run-down and devoid of character.  This realization, combined with reports of extensive fog in the morning and the discovery that trains from Ollantaytambo leave as early as 5:07am (arriving in Aguas Calientes at 6:34am), led to our decision to do a day trip from the Sacred Valley, as opposed to doing an overnight stay at Aguas Calientes.

Trip reports from others stress the importance of planning ahead of time.  There are a limited number of trains that run to Aguas Calientes, and it is sometimes impossible to make plans once arriving.  Even over 2 months ahead of our trip, we found that several train options (including one we figured would be the most convenient were already booked).  Additionally, the park itself limits the number of visitors to 2500 per day, and only 400 per day (in 2 time slots) for climbing Huaynapicchu (a popular hike within the park).  Two months ahead, there were still 167 slots in the later afternoon climb and 2450 for general admission, but I did notice that in the current month, several days had no availability.

Luckily, both train and park tickets can be obtained online.  Although visitors can also go through tours or travel agencies, it is usually more affordable (and I think more fun) to plan independently.

Train tickets are available through 2 companies: Peru Rail and Inca Rail.  Most trains leave from Ollantaytambo, which is a great base for exploring the Sacred Valley.  Four trains per day (including the luxurious Hiram Bingham train) leave from Poroy near Cusco, traveling through Ollantaytambo on the way.  We decided to take the earliest train, the 5:07am from Ollantaytambo, to enable to us to get as early of a start as possible.  We selected the 6:22pm return train, given that it wasn’t long after the 5:30pm closing time for the park.  Besides the Hiram Bingham, Peru Rail has two different classes of train: the Expedition and Vistadome, but we paid more attention to the times than the type of train.

Booking on the Peru Rail website is fairly straightforward.  As with train operators in Europe, Peru Rail recommends you use a Visa card registered in the Verified by Visa program.  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer cards are participating in this program (I just read confirmations that Chase cards dropped out of this program).  We decided to try our luck with our United Mileage Plus Explorer Card from Chase, even though it’s not in the Verified for Visa program, because it now has no foreign exchange transaction fees.  To our surprise, it worked!  However, we later learned that because it was not a Verified by Visa card, we need to pick-up paper tickets at a Peru Rail office when we arrive in the country.  Verified by Visa transactions can get e-Tickets.  We are going to try and contact Peru Rail to see if there is a way around this limitation, because the hours and locations of their offices are not the most convenient.

Tickets to the Machu Picchu park are available on the website administered by the Ministerio de Cultura.  Despite frustrating lag time, Flash, and unreliable language selection, we were able to secure our tickets.  The first step is to select “MACHUPICCHU” in the left drop down and the desired admission (general or a Huaynapicchu time slot) and then you can view availability on different dates.  This is all done with the “Reservas” or “Reservation” tab selected on the top.  After inputing information for participants, you are actually granted a reservation without paying.  The next step is to select the “Pagos” or “Payments” tab to use pay for your reservation.  You’ll need the reservation code from the first step.  Unlike Peru Rail, cards with Verified for Visa registration appear to be mandatory on this site.  We were unable to get our Chase card to work.  After paying, the last step is to use the “Check-in” tab to enter the reservation code one last time to retrieve e-tickets that can be printed-out and used for entrance.  

Expect to pay a lot for the Machu Picchu experience.  The combined cost of the train tickets and site admission cost us $368 ($184/person). That price does not include the cost we expect to pay for a bus fare once in Aguas Calientes ($12 R/T).  However, it is nice to have the peace of mind that our transportation and admission are guaranteed before leaving.

One Week in Peru: itinerary overview

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As of last week, our flights to Peru are officially booked!  We’ve been thinking about and discussing potential plans for Peru, so it didn’t take us long to lock down a high-level itinerary for our week in this South American country.

Machu Picchu (picture from the Machu Picchu wikipedia article)

Getting there: After our international flight into Lima (with a short layover in Panama), we will be boarding another plane for an hour and 20 minute flight into Cusco (or Cuzco).  From there we will take a taxi (that we booked via https://www.miramarspeedcircuit.com/find-car-rental-accepts-cash/ site) to and from the Sacred Valley.  Luckily the taxi transfers aren’t too expensive (we are paying $45-$50 for the hour and a half drive).

Deciding where to stay: Ryan quickly decided on Ollantaytambo as our base for the time spent in the Sacred Valley (including a day trip to Machu Picchu).  Our only real options were Ollantaytambo, Urubamba, Cusco, or Aguas Calientes.  Ollantaytambo and Urubamba are in the Sacred Valley and the train to Machu Picchu stops in both towns.  For us, Ollantaytambo seemed like a better option because there are actually ruins in the town, whereas Urubamba doesn’t have much in the town itself.  We decided that Cusco and Aguas Calientes were too far away for the exploring we plan to do within the Sacred Valley.  Also, Cusco sits at a much higher elevation, so it is recommended to spend a few nights in the Sacred Valley before spending time in Cusco.  Other than the first stop, we will spend 2 nights in Cusco and end up at in Lima for a few nights before heading home.

Sacred Valley, Peru, South America

The Sacred Valley, Peru (picture taken from wikipedia)

The breakdown by city:  We will be staying in Peru for a total of 9 nights and have decided to split our time between the three cities mentioned above: Ollantaytambo, Cusco, and Lima.

Ollantaytambo – 4 nights

  • Arriving: around 5:30pm at the Cusco Airport, and then taking a taxi (~an hour and a half) to Ollantaytambo
  • What to Do: get settled in the first night, explore the ruins in Ollantaytambo the second day, go on a private tour of the Sacred Valley, including the Pisac market, on the third day (we still have to schedule this), and finally explore Machu Picchu on our fourth and final day in the valley.
  • Leaving: fairly early in the morning, by taxi, to Cusco

Cusco – 2 nights

  • Arriving: fairly early (by lunchtime)
  • What to Do: touring the city, including Plaza de Armas (see picture below), and exploring nearby Inca ruins, potentially including Sacsayhuamán and Q’enko.  Cusco  becomes lively at night, so at the very least, drinks in the town center are a must!
  • Leaving: taking a mid-late morning flight to Lima (we haven’t booked this yet, but we will likely leave sometime between 9:30 and 11:00am)
Plaza de Armas, Cusco at Night
Plaza de Armas, Cusco at night (picture taken from wikipedia)

Lima – 3 nights

  • Arriving: at the Lima airport, between 11:00am and 12:30pm
  • What to Do: eat (I can’t wait for the food here, specifically the ceviche), visit the Museo Larco, and explore the neighborhoods
  • Leaving: 7am flight back to LAX, which gets us back a little after 4pm

Originally, a one week trip in Peru seemed like plenty of time, but now that we’ve done a bit more research, we wish we were staying longer (this always happens).  I know Ryan was a bit upset that we cut Lake Titicaca from the itinerary (and especially upset that we would no longer be taking the Andean Explorer from Cusco to Lake Titicaca), but our finalized itinerary will give us time to enjoy the cities we will be staying in, hopefully without feeling rushed.

We’ve spent the most time focusing on the first part of our trip (in and around Ollantaytambo), but we have about two more months to continue to research and make plans for activities so that we can make the most out of Peru!

Weekend Getaway: Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

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Paso Robles, located just off of the central coast in California, is a lesser-known wine region specializing in Rhone blends.  It was perfect for a one night stop on our way up to the Bay Area for the long Fourth of July weekend.  We visited seven wineries in all, chosen based on a little research we did the night before we left.

It’s not far from Bakersfield, so it’s a shame we don’t go up and visit (and taste!) more often.  Below is a list of where we tasted and some quick information about each tasting room.  If you are passing by, it’s worth a stop for a new wine tasting experience!

Rotta
The tasting fee is $5 for 8 wines (we shared). We tried one white, one rose, three reds, and three dessert wines (one served with chocolate!).  The lady pouring loves her job and talked to us for an hour as we tasted.  Overall it was a fun experience with a nice variety of wines.

Turley
It was a $10 tasting for four Zinfandels, so we shared again. They had a mix of old and young Zinfandels, and it was fun to compare them all. They also had delicious rosemary crackers at the bar – we bought a package for our picnic later in the day.  Overall it was the quickest and least personal tasting of the trip, but it’s worth a stop if you are a Zinfandel lover.

Écluse
They have free tastings, so we both had our own. We finally saw the beautiful views we were waiting for (see below). The tasting room is in the barrel room, which was a fun atmosphere. We also were able to taste a 2011 and 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from the barrel. We’ve done barrel tasting twice before and never have I tasted such drinkable barrel wine.  We decided to buy an older vintage of the same wine, hoping that the bottled version would taste even better!

Écluse Winery, Paso Robles

Calcareous
The tasting fee is normally $10, but if you check in on yelp, you get a complimentary tasting.  We weren’t a huge fan of their wines (some were just too sweet for us), but the patio area was beautiful (pictured below) and had a view of the valley below. We bought a bottle of white wine and picnicked for lunch. 

Calcareous Winery, Paso Robles

Jada
The cost is $10 for the reserve tasting and $15 for the signature tasting – both come with small cheese tastes for each wine. One tasting fee was waived with the purchase of three bottles, so we ended up getting the $15 tasting for free.  There is an indoor tasting area but you can also take you wine outside to a terrace with tables set up.  In my opinion, Jada has the best wines we tasted, but be prepared to spend a bit more (for the tasting and the bottles). 

Tablas Creek
$10 tasting for 6 wines – 5 were on the regular tasting menu and they had a bonus rose which was their “wine of the month.” The glass (which was my favorite of all the wineries we visited) was included with the tasting fee. As a bonus, the tasting fee was waived with the purchase of one bottle, so we purchased two bottles and both of our tastings were free.  

Tablas Creek Winery, Paso Robles

Caparone
A father and son team own the winery and they specialize in Italian varietals.  The six wines to taste were Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Aglianico, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel and they are all 100% (no blends). They only produce 2,500 cases per year and don’t really distribute, so we took advantage and bought four bottles for $16 each (two Nebbiolo and two Sangiovese) – the cheapest stop on our trip!

On our next trip to Paso Robles we will probably taste at different wineries (there are so many to choose from), but if we do repeat, I would prefer to taste at Écluse, Jada, and Caparone, as those were my favorite wines.  That being said, none of those were great for picnicking, so choose Turley, Tablas Creek, or Calcareous for a place to enjoy lunch.  And finally Rotta was by far the best experience, so if you have time, it’s worth a stop to appreciate a tasting room with history and character.