Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [217]
MIDRANGE & TOP END
KB Tambo Hostal (20-4091; www.kbperu.com; Ventiderio s/n; per person S45-75; ) Affable North American KB has nailed the ‘flashpacker’ market with this light, homey and colorful hostal (guesthouse). Travelers who like their home comforts (including, unusually for Ollanta, wireless internet) but enjoy a laid-back, hostel vibe suck this place up like a pisco sour after a dusty day. No relation to KB Tours in Plaza de Armas, KB also runs mountain-bike trips featuring the best quality bikes in Ollanta.
Kuychipunku Hostal (20-4175; www.kuychipunku.com; s/d/tr/q with breakfast S75/105/135/180) Run by the outstandingly friendly and helpful Bejar-Mejía family, Kuychipunku has it all: Inca walls, colonial archways, modern plumbing and Ollanta’s most photographed dining room. Half of the hotel is housed in an Inca building with 2m-thick walls. Rooms in the modern section have less personality, though the huge, light-filled, top-floor rooms are exceptional value. Recommended.
El Albergue Ollantaytambo Bed & Breakfast (20-4014; www.elalbergue.com; s/d/tr with breakfast S174/222/284) On the train platform, 800m from the center of the village, El Albergue is a romantic B&B in a characterful early-20th-century building with a lovely garden and a tiny sauna. It’s captivating – think colonial hacienda meets the age of steam.
Also recommended:
Hostal las Orquídeas (20-4032; www.hotellasorquideasllantaytambo.com; Av Ferrocarríl s/n; s/d/tr/q with breakfast S60/105/150/195) Has a small, grassy courtyard and basic rooms.
Hotel Muñay Tika (20-4111; www.munaytika.com; Av Ferrocarríl s/n; s/d/tr with breakfast S105/120/150) A bit shabby and dated, but cozy and comfortable with a pretty garden.
Eating
Hearts Café (20-4078; www.livingheartperu.org; Plaza de Armas s/n; menú S15, mains from S22 7:30am-10pm) Hearts Café dishes out delicious, healthy and hearty food and fabulous coffee. The cafe, which endearingly advertises ‘mostly whole foods,’ was set up to raise money for the Living Heart Association, an NGO founded by English nutritionist Sonia Newhouse, which is doing amazing things in the Sacred Valley. It has measurably improved child health in some villages, mainly by improving nutrition through school lunch programs and reducing incidence of stomach parasites through infusions of local plants. Living Heart has several initiatives on the go, including contraception education, conservation projects and a proposed children’s home. It gratefully accepts donations of warm clothing (especially warm jumpers and tights) for people living at 4200m above the Sacred Valley. Volunteers with useful skills (such as medicine) are sometimes accepted. To learn more, see the website.
Puka Rumi (20-4091; Ventiderio s/n; mains from S17; 7:30am-10pm) Locals rave about the steaks, travelers melt over the breakfasts, and everyone goes into ecstasies over the burritos. In name and appearance no different from thousands of touristic restaurants across Peru, Puka Rumi is set apart by its simply superb food.
Café Mayu (mains from S22; 5am-late) On the train platform, and part of El Albergue, Café Mayu serves excellent espresso to eager train travelers from first departure to last. Inside, its open kitchen quietly turns out a well-balanced menu that includes homemade pasta, lots of vegetarian options and brownies to die for. It’s hard to resist the delicious aromas of homemade desserts and pastries wafting through the station.
Drinking
Ganso (984-30-8499; Waqta s/n; 2pm-late) Treehouse meets circus meets Batman! The hallucinatory decor in tiny, friendly Ganso is enough to drive anyone to drink. The firemen’s pole and swing seats are the icing on the cake.
Bar Cactus (79-7162; Principal s/n; 6pm-late) As well as cheap drinks and plenty of chat, Bar Cactus offers a S10 menú till 9pm.
Getting There & Away
BUS & TAXI
Frequent combis and colectivos shuttle between Urubamba and Ollantaytambo (S1.20/2.50, 30 minutes), from 6am to around 5pm. To get to Cuzco, it’s easiest to change in Urubamba, though there are occasional departures direct from