Okay first of all, there is SO MUCH in Peru that you could spend a year here and not see everything. This is not an itinerary that will let you see everything; it was custom made for my mom, who wanted to see Inca ruins and was also coming with an eleven-year-old boy.
Duration: 10 days
Pros: Kid-friendly, sees the highlights
Cons: Overdone, busy and touristy
Route:
Start in Lima
Day 1:
- Visit Huaca Pucllana in the morning
- Tour of downtown, see the Plaza de Armas and the catacombs
- Dinner at La Dama Juana for traditional dancing and a Peruvian dinner buffet
Day 2:
- Trip to the zoo for Peruvian wildlife
- Lunch at Mango’s at Larcomar for a spectacular view
- Visiting Larcomar’s Museo Sala de Oro
- Paragliding over the Miraflores coastline
- Dinner at La Lucha, an out-of-the-way sandwich place
Day 3:
- Flight to Cusco
- Spend the afternoon acclimatizing to the altitude
Day 4:
- Take a morning bus to Pisac
- Hopefully this day is a Sunday (Tuesday or Thursday also works well) so you can see the impressive market of Pisac and even attend mass in Quechua
- Spend the afternoon in the mountainous ruins
- Take an afternoon bus to Urubamba
Day 5:
- Go for a half-day horseback riding tour on the famous Peruvian Paso horses
- Take a bus to Ollantaytambo
- Have lunch at Heart’s Cafe in the main square
- Visit the fortress ruins
- Take a train to Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu Pueblo as it is sometimes known
Day 6:
- Spend the day at Machu Picchu!
- Take an evening train back to Cusco
Day 7:
- Spend the day exploring the city. Be sure to visit:
- Museo Inca
- Qoricancha
- Sacsayhuaman
- Q’enqo
- Tambomachay
- Pukapukara
Day 8:
- Take a morning flight back to Lima
- Visit the Archaeology Museum in the afternoon
- In the evening, go to the Water Park
Day 9:
- Have brunch at 4D and treat yourself to the best ice cream in the city
- Head to Callao and do a boat tour of the Islas Palomino, and go swimming with the sea lions
- Try some Peruvian ceviche at El Huarike in Miraflores
Adventures in Peruvia 
OK, so we didn’t quite get to do all of these things. We kind of got a little sick toward the end of our trip and had to slow down (or wimped out now and then). And we didn’t get to go to Machu Picchu because the rains washed out the train bridge.
But the itinerary was great. Hmm. I never did have Peruvian ice cream.
By: Mom on April 5, 2010
at 5:59 pm