Machupicchu

The enigmatic mp is quite easy to reach. Well at least once you know about it. You either hike up  as part of a trek that ends in Machupicchu or bus it up from this dingy little base town called Aguas Calientes. No bonus for guessing that it has hot water springs (for language nerds alone!)

The toughest part of Machupicchu - getting hold of the bloody entry tickets: There are a total of 4000 tickets reserved for the site of Machupicchu each day. In addition to this there are another 200 tickets each to Waynapichu and Machupicchu mountains from where you get stunning views to Machupicchu on a clear day. If you are anything like us, paranoid about doing all the main bookings in advance, you are better off booking tickets to the site at least 4-5 months in advance and 6-8 months if you also want to hike up one of the peaks during high season. Don't kill yourself even if you do just the site. It is still mind numbingly good (better with peaks, of course). In the low season your planning cycle can be as low as 1-1.5 months in advance. We did just that.

Alpaca in action!

The slopes at Machupicchu

To trek to Machupicchu, the most famous one is the Inca trail (closed on February for maintenance) and is a 3 day trek which ends in MP. There are other alternate treks such as Salkantay and Ausangate which are also popular. Most treks usually start from the town of Ollantaytambo. The Inca trail only has 400 tickets a day and gets booked out quickly (needs booking 5-6 months in advance)

The easiest and hassle free way to do MP is to go through a local travel agency. We chose Golden Treks Peru and were very happy with their service. If you go for a different agency, keep in mind the inclusions and exclusions as they tend to squeeze you there. If you do the math of total costs, what most of them charge is quite reasonable as it is a very competitive market.

Machupicchu in all its glory!

Costs of Machupicchu: stay overnight in AC
and get to mp in the morning
MP entrance ticket: $50
Bus between mp and Aguascalientes (return): $24 (you can also hike up and down but best to save your energy for the top - you are gonna need it)
Overnight stay and dinner in AC: $25-35
Collectivo from Ollantaytambo to AC: $10 (train optional)
Journey back to cusco by local transport: $15

Optionals:

Waynapichu: $10

Train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (one way): $50

Guide: $15-20 for a private one and $2 if you manage to find a shared one. Can usually be found at the entrance. You don't need a guide to get into mp but I strongly recommend it.

I would recommend that you don't bother about individual bookings, but just suck it up and book through an agency. Doing each of the individual bookings from outside Peru is a nightmare as Machupicchu's official website and the train websites do not accept non-Peruvian cards. Note that we had seen a day trip to MP from Cusco at as low as $100 or less which are mostly last minute cancellations. But don't bank on it if you are going all the way from India.

Cusco, the jewel of Peru

Cusco is literally in the heart of Puno and is closer to the Amazon rain forests than to Lima. This is the city that attracts most tourists in a year in Peru. It is the gateway to the rich Incan past and surrounded by a mind blowing set of ruins covering the entire area. A taxi from Cusco airport to the city center should set you back by $3 (10 Soles).

Sacsayhuaman - A walk from Cusco

The ruins of Chichero had a lot to offer

Depending upon what you want to see in Cusco, you have 2 options to pick an overall entrance ticket:

• 3 partial tickets covering different areas - 1 for entrances to musuems and selected sights within Cusco, 1 for ruins close to Cusco and 1 for ruins within sacred valley. Each partial ticket costs $20 (70 Soles) and is valid for 1 or 2 days
• 1 full ticket for everything mentioned above, valid for 10 days and costs $40 (130 Soles). Our recommendation is obviously to go for this

The things to do in Cusco can be split into 4 major segments:

The Ruins of Raqchi

1. South of Cusco: ruins like Tipon, Raqchi and a boring church of andahulliyas. The best way to do this is either as a day tour from cusco or even better in a bus from Puno to Cusco. 3 companies (Turismo Mer, Inca express) offer a bus on the route of sun, covering these key Areas and costs $55 per person for the one way journey. It starts at 7 am and reaches at 5 pm either ways. We did the ride from Puno to Cusco with Turismo Mer and found the entire experience to be quite interesting. They provide lunch, English speaking guide and entrance tickets on the way). Tipon however is not a part of the ride as it needs a Boleto Touristico.

2. Town of Cusco and Ruins nearby: dedicate a half day to a full day for Cusco itself depending on your interests. A multitude of museums on Incan history and art exist in Cusco. We did the museo del Inca and found it to be quite the fun. Qorikancha temple is another site that can be visited within cusco town. Both these sights have their own entrance tickets costing 10 soles each. Plaza de Armas and plaza de San Francisco are good places to hang out in the evenings. Grab a coffee around the plaza de Armas to experience to get the real feel for Peruvian life.

Dedicate a day for the ruins of sacsayhuaman, qenko, puka pukara and tambomachay. All these 4 sites are covered by Boleto touristico. We took a taxi for 15 soles to sacsayhuaman from city centre. This is a masterpiece so close to the city of cusco which has 3 layers of tall ramparts and a temple of sun within the site. You can then walk to the Christ figure overlooking the entire city and then proceed to the next site of Qenko. All these 3 sites are within 1 km of each other. You can then take a bus to tambomachay just outside the site of Qenko. This is a blue colored bus that plies every 5-10 mins and costs 1 sole to get there. Tambomachay, a temple of water and an Inca bath and Puka Pukara are next to each other. You can take the same bus back to city centre for another sole.

The train journey along the Sacred valley

3. Sacred valley: Contains 4 ruins; Moray, Chinchero, Pisac and Ollantaytambo all of which covered by Boleto touristico. We did a 1-day trip to Sacred Valley. The trip covered Chinchero, large agricultural terraces that dominating an entire hill side, where we spent about 2 hours. The next stop was Ollantaytambo which has a Sun Temple and terraces that can only be rivaled by the ones seen in Chinchero. This ruin has some very interesting history and explains the ways of Incan life. The hill opposite the Ollantaytambo ruin has 2 human faces embedded, one of a grumpy man and other of an Inca warrior. Strongly recommend that you hike the mountain across the ruin if you have time at hand, for which you would at least need 3-4 hours.

Moray is believed to be an agricultural laboratory with layers of terraces where the Incas experimented with different crops in varying temperatures. Adjacent to Moray are the Salinas de Maras where salt is made even today. Pisac is a market town (4 days a week) and ruin spot which comes highly recommended. It is difficult to cover all 4 in one day and might need 2 days to do all extensively.



4. Machupicchu is covered separately here.

2 Indians in Morocco

Morocco is an amalgamation of European culture from the North and African culture. It is a hot destination for most Europeans given that it is located at 2-3 hours from most cities.

When to go?

Ait Ben Haddou in the middle of the desert

November to April is really good weather - Between 25 and 10 throughout most of the country while summers (July, August) tend to be hot at 35 degrees. Casablanca is a tad colder in the summers than the historic cities of Marrakech and Fez. The Sahara areas of Merzouga, Zagora are much hotter in the summers with temperatures reaching up to 40 deg. while winters are colder than the mainland.

For those from India, Morocco can be visited any time of the year. Compared to the Indian summers, this is a cake walk! However avoid the peak summers in July, August as the most places get really hot and you also get to avoid the insane European traffic that the country attracts in those months. We have enough people back in our country anyway

What to see?

There are 4 major segments to see in Morocco.

1. History Buffs - Marrakech, Fez, Casablanca: These are the most commonly visited destinations within Morocco and usually the entry point for most travellers. Needless to say, each of these cities are brimming with tourists all year round and hence has a well developed ecosystem of travel agencies and touts offering day trips, city tours etc. Marrakech in particular has an old world charm with its famous Jemaa El Fnaa square playing home to vendors selling everything from lamps to orange juice, snake charmers, jugglers, beautiful cafes, touts and more

Sunset at Essaouira

High Atlas landscapes

2. Surf Shacks - Agadir, Essaouira: The Moroccan hotspot for beaches and both with excellent avenues for water sports like surfing and beach bumming. Personally, I enjoyed my days in Essaouira and Agadir more than Marrakech. There are enough agencies that teach you surfing for those interested. Fishing is a huge industry for the area and the Fish market of Essaouira is definitely worth a visit.

3. Treks, Hikes and Game of Thrones - Atlas range: The Atlas range is only an hour away from Marrakech and hence acts as the start point for most treks and hikes around the area. Ascents like Mt. Toubkal and Djebel Sirwa take you through some of the most scenic areas within Morocco. Finally, do visit Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate which are home to old fortresses and places where Game of Thrones was also shot. Given their proximity to Marrakech, you can easily do each as a day trip or 2 day trip

4. The Great Sahara: The best place to really experience the Sahara from Morocco is Merzouga. You do get a lot of tours taking you to Zagora, but don't fall for this trap. Merzouga offers you pristine golden sands with the "real" Sahara

The fortress of Ouarzazate

The Great Sahara

How long?

Morocco probably needs 7-10 days depending on your penchant for culture and deserts. 2 days in Marrakech, 3 days on the road from Marrakech towards the fortresses and desert and 2 days around the beaches are a must. The remaining time can be spent in the towns of Fes and Casablanca. Casablanca and Rabat are industrial cities and have very little to offer.

Essentials

• Patience - Streets filled with people, touts trying to sell you anything and everything is not the easiest environment to handle
• Best to withdraw money in the ATMs. Euros are accepted everywhere and hence is the best currency to carry around
• Local transport through taxis is not too expensive and can easily be used in most cities
• Public transport isn't the easiest to figure out
• Buses are the easiest way to travel within Morocco and some places are connected by trains
• Predominantly dry weather and hence dress for free style clothing depending on the month

Budget

• Flights: Return flights from Bombay to Casablanca cost about 40,000 (Emirates) - EUR 530
• Domestic travel through buses could cost you INR 1500 (EUR 20) for a return ticket from Marrakech to Agadir
• Hotels / Riads are cheap, depending on the luxury level you opt for. You can plan an average of INR 2K-3K (EUR 25-35) per night for a couple
• Food is again reasonable and a budget level can easily be planned at an average INR 400-600 per couple (EUR 5-10). Fresh orange juice is available everywhere and can easily be purchased at INR 80-150 (EUR 1-2)
• If you want to grab some beers or wine, its best to go to the nearest Carrefour to stock up

If you are looking for a luxury holiday and if you have Europe-like scenery in mind, stay away. Morocco is a developing country and hence has an India-like feel in most cities.