Peru

Exploring Lima & Machu Picchu

By Wander with Jill

May 30^th, 2018

A few months ago I decided I wanted to take my mother on a trip to Peru for her birthday. Im known to travel ALOT, but I haven't been on a trip with my mom in a few years and I felt it was overdue. Plus, it would be nice to spend quality time with her and learn more about my culture first hand being that I am part Peruvian. So I planned a 7 day trip for us to visit Lima and Machu Picchu. We started our trip by flying into Lima. I was also lucky enough to finally get to meet my family that lives there and they showed us to some cool places around town...

Larcomar

We spent our first day by going to Larcomar which is a shopping center located at the top of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Miraflores district. The View was beautiful.

PLaza De ArmAS

The Plaza Mayor or Plaza de Armas (as it was known until 1990), is the oldest public place in Lima. In 1535 the conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded on the area of an existing indigenous settlement the city of Lima. He designed a main square in the central part of the future city Lima with all important institutions built around it. Here you can find the Government Palace, Cathedral of Lima, Archbishop's Palace of Lima, the Municipal Palace, and the Palace of the Union.

Circuito Magico Del Agua, LiMA

The Magic Water Circuit in Parque de la Reserva has been verified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest fountain complex in a public park. It consists of 13 water fountains where water, music and an impressive set of laser lights are mixed giving a unique show. This was my favorite site to see while I was in Lima, and would suggest it to anyone who visits.

LLAMA LOVE

Llamas are synonymous with Peruvian culture and have been at the forefront of the Peruvian way of life for centuries. Upon arriving into Cusco you can be sure to find these adorable animals all over town. I couldn't help but to take photos with them, it was love at first site.

AGUAS CALIENTES

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to visit Machu Picchu. Im obviously not alone in this; In terms of bucket list destinations, Machu Picchu is probably near the top of places to visit for most travelers since its one of the Wonders of the World. But The journey to actually get to Machu Picchu is not a simple one and we chose not to go on a tour to save money. We started off by flying from Lima to Cusco. From there we had to take a taxi for another hour and a half to the town of Ollantaytambo, where we had to catch the Incarail train that would take us to the town of Aguas Calientes. The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes was an hour and a half long beautiful scenic ride through the Andes.

Aguas Calientes, which means Hot Waters in Spanish, is nowadays most often referred to as Machu Picchu Pueblo or Machu Picchu Town. This town is very small and there is not much to do except shop in the market or eat in one of the restaurants. Most People arrive by train, spend the night, tour Machu Picchu and then leave again by the same train. So Thats exactly what we did. We arrived late in the evening and stayed at a nice little hotel in the center of town called Gringo Bills Hotel, which is one of the top rated places to stay in town. The next day we woke up early to take the shuttle bus up to Machu Picchu. The bus ride is only about 20 minutes long and brought us directly to the beautiful site.

MACHU PICCHU

There’s nothing like finally seeing a place that you have wanted to visit for your whole life. When we walked up the steep stairs, passed the watch tower, and finally arrived at the terraces that give the iconic view of Machu Picchu that everybody knows, we were stunned. It was truly a magical site to see.

This 7 day trip was definitely not enough time but was still amazing nonetheless. Im also really glad I got to experience it with my amazing mom. I hope to go back to Cusco sometime in the near future to explore more of the Sacred Valley and other towns such as Pisac and Moray.