Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [208]
Train fares have skyrocketed in recent years and most travelers now take the bus. The fancy Andean Explorer train, which includes a glass-walled observation car and complimentary lunch, costs S704 – there’s no cheaper option. The train tracks run next to the road for most of the way, so there’s not a huge difference in scenery, and the train is only marginally more comfortable than the better buses, so unless you’re a train buff, there seems little reason to spend the extra S600. Trains depart from Estación Huanchac at 8am, arriving at Puno around 6pm, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from November to March, with an extra departure on Friday from April to October.
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airport
The airport is about 6km south of the city center. The combi lines Imperial and C4M (S0.60, 20 minutes) run from Av El Sol to just outside the airport. A taxi to or from the city center to the airport costs S5. An official radio taxi from within the airport costs S10. With advance reservations, many hotels offer free pickup.
Bus
Local rides on public transportation cost only S0.60, though it’s easier to walk or just take a taxi than to figure out where any given combi is headed.
Taxi
There are no meters in taxis, but there are set rates. At time of research, trips within the city center cost S2.50, and to destinations further afield, such as El Molino, were S3. Check with your hotel whether this is still correct, and rather than negotiate, simply hand the correct amount to your driver at the end of your ride; he is unlikely to argue if you seem to know what you’re doing. Official taxis, identified by a lit company telephone number on the roof, are more expensive than taxis flagged down on the street, but they are safer. AloCusco (22-2222) is a reliable company to call. Unofficial ‘pirate’ taxis, which only have a taxi sticker in the window, have been complicit in muggings, violent assaults and kidnappings of tourists. Before getting into any taxi, do as savvy locals do and take conspicuous note of the registration number.
Tram
The Tranvia is a free-rolling tourist tram that conducts a 1½ hour hop-on, hop-off city tour (S15). It leaves at 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am, 2pm, 3:30pm, 5pm and 6:30pm from the Plaza de Armas.
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AROUND CUZCO
The four ruins closest to Cuzco are Sacsaywamán, Q’enqo, Pukapukara and Tambomachay. They can all be visited in a day – far less if you’re whisked through on a guided tour. If you only have time to visit one site, Sacsaywamán is the most important, and less than a 2km trek uphill from the Plaza de Armas in central Cuzco.
Each site can only be entered with the boleto turístico (Click here). They’re open daily from 7am to 6pm.
The cheapest way to visit the sites is to take a bus bound for Pisac and ask the driver to get off at Tambomachay, the furthest site from Cuzco and, at 3700m, the highest. It’s an 8km walk back to Cuzco, visiting all four ruins along the way. Alternatively, a taxi will charge roughly S40 to visit all four sites.
Local guides hang around offering their services, sometimes quite persistently. Agree on a price before beginning any tour.
Robberies at these sites are uncommon but not unheard of. Cuzco’s tourist police recommend visiting between 9am and 5pm.
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SACSAYWAMÁN
This immense ruin of both religious and military significance is the most impressive in the immediate area around Cuzco. The long Quechua name means ‘Satisfied Falcon,’ though tourists will inevitably remember it by the mnemonic ‘sexy woman.’ Sacsaywamán feels huge, but what today’s visitor sees is only about 20% of the original structure. Soon after the conquest, the Spaniards tore down many walls and used the blocks to build their own houses in Cuzco, leaving the largest and most impressive rocks, especially those forming the main battlements.
In 1536 the fort was the site of one of the most