Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [176]
Left Luggage
If you’re going trekking for a few days or even just on an overnight excursion, any hostel will store your bags for free. Always get a receipt, and lock your bags. The bags should have identifying tags showing your name and the drop-off and expected pickup dates. For soft-sided bags, we recommend placing them inside a larger plastic bag and sealing them shut with tape. Then sign your name across the seal, so that you can tell if your bag has been opened while you were away. It’s best to keep all valuables (eg passport, credit cards, money) on your person. Trekkers are required to carry their passport with them on the Inca Trail.
Medical Services
Pharmacies abound along Av El Sol. Cuzco’s medical facilities are limited; head to Lima for serious procedures.
Clinica Pardo (24-0997; Av de la Cultura 710; 24hr) Well equipped and expensive – perfect if you‘re covered by travel insurance.
Clínica Paredes (22-5265; Lechugal 405; 24hr) Consultations S60.
Hospital Regional (23-9792, emergencies 22-3691; Av de la Cultura s/n; 24hr) Public and free, but wait times can be long and good care is not guaranteed.
Money
ATMs abound in and around the Plaza de Armas, and are also available at the airport, Huanchaq train station and the bus terminal. All accept Visa, most accept MasterCard, and many will even allow you to withdraw from a foreign debit account. There are several big bank branches on Av El Sol; go inside for cash advances above daily ATM limits. Casas de cambio (foreign-exchange bureaus) give better exchange rates than banks, and are scattered around the main plazas and especially along Av El Sol. Moneychangers can be found outside banks, but their rates aren’t much better than casas de cambio and rip-offs are common. (Click here for information on how to spot counterfeit bills.)
Banco Continental (Av El Sol 368; 9:15am-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 9:30am-12:30pm Sat)
BCP (Av El Sol 189; 9am-6:30pm Mon-Thu, to 7:30pm Fri, to 1pm Sat)
Interbank (Av El Sol 380; 9am-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 9:15am-12:30pm Sat)
Post
DHL (24-4167; Av El Sol 627A; 8:30am-7:30pm Mon-Fri, to 1:30pm Sat) International express mail and package courier services.
Main post office (22-4212; Av El Sol 800; 8am-8pm Mon-Sat) General delivery (poste restante) mail is held here at the main post office; bring proof of identity.
Telephone
Local, long-distance and international calls can be made from any payphone using a phonecard (Click here), or more cheaply from locutorios (calling centers) scattered around the Plaza, particularly on Procuradores, which charge as little as S0.50 per minute for international calls. Most cybercafes offer Skype, which is cheapest of all.
Tourist Information
Travel agencies are all too willing to help out with travel arrangements – for a hefty commission, of course. The following independent tourist information centers are recommended:
Dircetur (22-3701; www.dirceturcusco.gob.pe; Mantas 117; 10am-8pm Mon-Sat) The official provider of Cuzco tourism information. Well meaning but motley and sporadic; iPerú is more informative.
iPerú (www.peru.info) airport (23-7364; Aeropuerto, Main Hall; 6am-4pm); city center (25-2974; Office 102, Galerías Turísticas, Av El Sol 103; 8:30am-7:30pm) Apart from providing tourist information about Peru in general, iPerú runs Indecopi (25-2974), the tourist protection/complaints agency, from its efficient, helpful and knowledgeable city-center office.
South American Explorers Club (24-5484; www.saexplorers.org; Atocsaycuchi 670; 9:30am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat) Gives unbiased advice and sells information booklets, including on alternatives to the Inca Trail and Amazon jungle adventures.
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DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
Most travelers will experience few problems in Cuzco. Ninety percent of total crime reports received by the tourist police are from two types of easily preventable crime: bags stolen from the backs of chairs in public places, or from overhead shelves in overnight