Arriving to Cusco

Once arrived in Lima, you can find two main ways to travel to Cusco, one is by plane and the other by bus I used both in the past, but I think I prefer to sacrifice a little more money and arrive in 1 hour or 1.5 hours instead of the 22 hours that takes the bus from Lima to Cusco.

Depending on the trip of each person and the point of entry to Peru, the price changes a lot depending if you enter through Puno (border with Bolivia) or from Tacna (border with Chile) compared to the price if you come straight from Lima.

The good thing is that nowadays, due to the high demand for flights, prices are more affordable, and you can find flights from 35 dollars (one way). Bus prices vary between companies and can range from s/.60.00 to s/.195.00 (between 17 – 50 dollars for a one-way ticket)

You should know that Cusco is located at 3,999 meters above sea level, which causes altitude sickness in many people. For these cases, “Sorochipill” is recommended, which is a pill that helps with altitude sickness, it’s usually taken before leaving for the airport and when arriving in Cusco.

Based on the time I’ve been working in Cusco, I can confirm that the difference between people who take this pill and those who don’t can be significant. Other alternatives to help with altitude sickness are drinking coca tea, muña tea (Andean mint) or chewing coca leaves. But I’ll talk a little more about this later.

After landing at the Cusco airport (Velasco Astete), you can take a taxi to the centre (most hotels are located near the centre). My recommendation is that you see if the hotel where you are staying offers you a free transfer from the airport to the hotel or otherwise avoid taking the unregistered taxis that are inside the airport since there are many stories in which they take advantage of tourists and they charge the rates in USD or the equivalent in Peruvian soles. I have met people who were charged 50 dollars or more from the airport to the centre (20min ride) or who say that the agreed rate was different.

That is why I recommend that you download apps that work in Peru without problems, among these are Uber, Didi, Cabify and InDrive. I found it very useful that if you have an Uber account in your country, you can continue to use it in Peru. The prices vary according to the demand and the application, you can request a pickup from inside the airport, but if you can’t find the option, and if you do not have much luggage, you can walk about 200 meters to the pedestrian exit at the airport. Is important to verify the license plate of the car, as there are people that might say that they are your taxi, but they aren’t.

Another alternative is to be able to use a taxi that is inside the airport and has a fixed rate, they are usually a little more expensive than an app taxi, but at least you will know what you have to pay. Either if it’s by application or by taxi inside the airport, make sure you are not paying too much.

Something that some people do but that I particularly DO NOT recommend is leaving the airport and taking a taxi from the street, they may be cheaper than the options that I gave you previously, but there may be a slight risk that the person is not a taxi and wants to try to steal or get money in exchange for a threat.

With this I don’t want to say that all the taxis on the street are bad, I’m only pointing out that, if you have just arrived in a city, not only in Cusco (this applies throughout the world), you are also an easy target for criminals or people with bad intentions. Remember that everything I mention are just suggestions and you have the right to choose the option that suits you best.

Also, I am not mentioning the option of taking a bus, because if you are travelling with a lot of luggage, this would be a problem as well as communication since many people do not speak Spanish when they arrive in the city.

Travel Options:

By plane:

Among the airlines we can find in Peru that operate from Lima to Cusco are: Latam, Sky and JetSmart. The flight takes an average of 1:25h and there are flights available from 5am to 8pm, I recommend (as many know) that you book your flights in advance to access better prices since you can get one-way flights as cheap as 35 dollars and they can go up to more than 100 dollars if it is close to the date or if the demand is very high (high season). It is also important to mention that earlier flights usually cost less.

By bus:

As I mentioned before, the bus trip is much longer than the plane, but if you have time and want to enjoy the scenery, this is a good alternative. The bus trip takes around 22 hours, although it can be more, depending on the company you travel with, if they make stops or if there are any problems along the way. That is why I recommend choosing a trusted company, among them Cruz del Sur, Exclusiva, Civa or Palomino, only to mention a few. Overall, I believe travelling by bus is a nice experience since they have different services. I particularly recommend the “Cruzero Suite” service from Cruz del Sur, which is a 180° sleeper bus, that has food on board and an entertainment centre in each seat.

Of course, the prices will vary depending on the service you take, but I consider that if you are going to take a bus for 22+ hours, the best thing you can do would be to travel comfortably, but that is my opinion. As I mentioned, there are various services, companies, and prices, so feel free to choose the one that suits you best based on your criteria or budget. With this in mind, buses can cost an average of 17 to 50 dollars based on which option you choose.

How it all started

When I think about how this whole adventure that I now consider the path of my life began, I start to think about various things, from the place where I was born, the places where I grew up, the different people I met or the number of languages that I had the opportunity to learn, either due to the fact of having lived a long period in a specific country or because the magic of travelling led me to designate an amount of time to get to know a little more of that country and its culture.

At the beginning of my life, I was taught three languages due to my background, which would later turn into five and from which, to a greater or lesser extent, I can communicate without many issues. Living in different countries and learning about their culture and languages has given me a diverse range of perspectives, it has helped me grow as a person and to have a deeper understanding of different situations or scenarios. By this, I don’t mean to say that the challenges I found along the way have been easy, but after falling multiple times, I was able to get up, learn, and appreciate life in a better way (although I must admit that I got pretty angry at first trying to understand the why).

I also must mention that in many difficult situations, I had the support of important people, who, in many cases, I’ve also met while travelling and whom I consider friends, real friends with whom I may not be in constant communication, but who are always there to help you no matter where you are. I consider myself very lucky to have good people around me and I appreciate it very much.

From a very young age, my parents (especially my mother) introduced me to travel and to live in different places while I was growing up, so I think that from that early age, I began to have this immense desire to see the world. After living in countries like Sweden, Brazil and Peru, I took the decision to move to Australia in 2015 to study at a university on the Gold Coast. Before this move, I travelled South America, working as a bartender in different bars, hotels, and restaurants. Having worked as a bartender was helpful once I got to the Gold Coast, as it is a multicultural city and hospitality is a highly demanded area workwise, which made it easy for me to find a job and stability while studying. But we’ll talk more about my life on the land “down under” in the future.

If there is something worth mentioning, it is that when you travel, you always have “that” special place, it varies from person to person, depending on the experience that each one lived at a given moment, perhaps due to the landscapes, the people you met and that make the experience more incredible, or maybe the season in which you went to visit that place, perhaps the culture, its food or maybe something that cannot be explained but that ties you in an indescribable way to “that” beautiful place. The reason why I reflected on this is because that happened to me in Cusco-Peru many years ago, when I was on my first backpacking adventure around the world.

Since I was little, I always marvelled at the incredible way the Incas shaped their architecture hundreds of years ago, so we can be impressed when we see their imposing constructions when we arrive in this magical city. On the other hand, their advanced technology (considering the time and the resources at hand), which allowed them to work around the valleys and mountains and make them “their own” regardless of the difficulties that geography itself posed, allowing them to create irrigation channels, imposing fortresses, experimentation centres and the most impressive citadel in that part of the world: Machu Picchu.

All these things made me have a connection (without knowing it yet) with that land, but Cusco is not only ceremonial centres, fortresses and hikes. Upon arriving in Cusco for the first time, I felt an indescribable energy when I observed those green mountains and valleys from the plane before landing, so when I finally left the airport, I was able to breathe its pure air. As I approached the centre of the city, I was struck by the contrast between the city’s infrastructure and the ability of people to make their homes on the bases of the hills that surround the city. After leaving my bags at my lodging I decided to go to the main square, I stopped next to the fountain and began to observe everything around me, from the cathedral, the convent, the mountains illuminated with the lights of the houses and the various restaurants around the square, I could see how cosmopolitan it was, mixing citizens from all over the world with local people who had this spectacular place in their daily lives. At that moment, I decided to change my plan to continue travelling continuously, to stay in Cusco for the next 8 months in which I made that city my home.

After this time, I continued my journey, but always returning to Cusco to “recharge my energy” for a while and must confess that every time I return to Cusco, I always leave with that feeling of sadness, but joy at the same time because I know it won’t be the last time. That is why I have not stopped returning to Cusco, and I don’t think I ever will. But for now, I will dedicate myself to sharing my experiences and knowledge about Cusco with everyone and I’ll add information from other journeys in the future.