Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [234]
Heladería la Esquina (cnr Espinar & Libertad; sandwiches from S2.50; 8am-11pm Mon-Sat) This retro cafe serves up delicious juices, cakes, ice cream and fast-food snacks. Service is grouchy, but the 1950s-diner decor makes up for that.
For a drink, try Niko’s (Pio Concha s/n).
GETTING THERE & AWAY & AROUND
Walk south along Torre four blocks past Plaza Grau, to Plaza de Banderas, to find transport to Huancacalle. Turn right at the end of Plaza de Banderas to find minivans (S30, four to five hours) to Cuzco in the first block, and the terminal terrestre a block later. Buses for Cuzco (S15, six to seven hours) leave from here several times a day before 8am and between 1:30pm and 9:30pm. Minivans leave early in the morning and in the evening. All stop at Ollantaytambo and Urubamba en route, but charge full fare wherever you get off.
Minivans leave from Quillabamba’s market area for Kiteni (S15, three to six hours) and Ivochote (S18, five to seven hours), further into the jungle.
The basic mototaxi fare around town is S1.
Huancacalle
084 / pop 300 / elev 3200m
Peaceful, pretty Huancacalle is best known as the jumping-off point for treks to Vilcabamba (Click here), but many more hikes from three to 10 days long are possible from here, including to Puncuyo, Inca Tambo, Choquequirau and Machu Picchu. The town’s biggest building is Hostal Manco Sixpac (Huancacalle community phone 81-2714, relative in Cuzco 084-27-1358; per person without bathroom S20), run by the Cobos family of local guides. You can organize mules and guides here for around S30 per day each.
Manco Inca’s huge palace fortress of Vitcos (also known as Rosaspata) is an hour’s walk up the hill, and from there you can continue to the amazing, sacred white rock of Yurac Rumi. The whole easy-to-follow circuit, which starts just over the bridge at the end of the road, takes a leisurely three hours, including plenty of time for photos and admiration of both scenery and ruins.
Ivochote & Beyond
A long bus journey from Quillabamba takes you through the oil town of Kiteni and on to the more remote Ivochote, a small jungle village with a few basic accommodations. From here you can continue into Amazonia by river.
The first major landmark past Ivochote is the Pongo de Mainique, a steep-walled canyon carved by cascading waterfalls on the lower Río Urubamba, which marks the border between Amazonia’s high and lowland cloud forest. Between June and November, boats can be found in Ivochote to take you there and back – the trip takes the best part of a day. You’ll pay anything from S60 to S350 per person; group size is a big factor.
Past the Pongo, at the indigenous Matsiguenka (or Machigengua) community of Timpía, you can find local guides and transport for Santuario Nacional Megantoni. Accommodation is available at Sabeti Lodge (www.sabetilodge.com), and you can also camp on the riverside.
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CUZCO TO MANU
Paucartambo
pop 1300 / elev 3200m
This small village lies on the eastern slopes of the Andes, about 115km and three hours northeast of Cuzco along a cliff-hanging dirt road (being paved at time of research).
Paucartambo is famous for its riotously colorful celebration in honor of the Virgen del Carmen, a festival held annually from July 15 to 18, with hypnotic street dancing, wonderful processions and all manner of weird costumes. The highly symbolic dances are inspired by everything from fever-ridden malaria sufferers to the homosexual practices of the Spanish conquistadors.
Accommodation for the festival needs to be organized in advance; you either have to find a room in one of a few basic hotels or hope a local will give you some floor space. Many tourist agencies in Cuzco run buses specifically for the fiesta and can help arrange accommodations with local families.
Transportes Gallito de las Rocas (084-22-6895; Diagonal Angamos, 1st block