Two Weeks in Peru + Ecuador
TaLk Spanglish To Me
My boyfriend and I just spent two weeks exploring Peru and Ecuador while living out of our backpacks. It was my first time in South America and I absolutely loved it. I already can’t wait to go back to further explore this beautiful continent. Check out my packing list for traveling South America here.
Day One: Lima, Peru
We flew into Lima via JetBlue with a short layover in Fort Lauderdale. Our hostel, Peruvian Wasi, arranged a pick up for us even though we didn’t get in until 11 pm. Peruvian Wasi is a nice, clean accommodation with private rooms and is in close proximity to the airport. The driver was there promptly at 4:30 am to drive us back to the airport to catch our flight to Cusco. It costed us $40 USD in total for the room and the round trip taxi. I highly suggest researching and booking accommodations in advance to set up safe transportation and to get the best deal. For more tips on things to know before going to Peru, read my blog post here.
Day Two: Cusco, Peru
After popping some Diamox to beat altitude sickness, we hopped on our plane to Cusco with our $80 one-way tickets via Viva Airlines. The flight from Lima to Cusco is only about 45 minutes and the Lima airport security is pretty quick and seamless. Our Airbnb let us check in early so we dropped off our bags, changed and set out to explore Cusco. The Airbnb is in a perfect location in the neighborhood of San Blas, a cute artisanal neighborhood with boutiques, restaurants and light washed buildings with blue accent doors.
We wandered around and made our way to Plaza de Armas. It is very touristy and we were asked about 100 times that day alone if we wanted to look at art from men walking around with giant binders, hold an alpaca for a photo or buy some other item from a street vendor. I personally don’t love situations where I’m being harassed constantly to buy something, so Plaza de Armas wasn’t my favorite place in Cusco. However, the stalls have some lovely art and handmade crafts that are worth checking out.
We got lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the plaza and went to the Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa for a tour. I believe entrance was only 15 soles each and there are tour guides waiting inside to show you around. All tour guides in Cusco must go to college for tourism and speak at least one other language than Spanish to become a guide, so they are all extremely knowledgeable on the history of Cusco and the Inca and Spanish influence on Peru. Catholism is widely practiced in Peru, about 85% of Peruvians identity as catholic, so the cathedrals are pretty crucial to a trip to Peru.
One of my favorite parts of the tour of Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa was a painting of the Last Supper by a famous Peruvian artist. He added a Peruvian food staple, the guinea pig, to the center of the table and changed the skin tone of one of the disciples to reflect that of the locals.
After leaving the cathedral, we went to see the famous 12 Angle Stone near Plaza de Armas. The cathedrals in Cusco were all built ontop of former Inca temples after the Spanish invaded Peru and brought Catholism to the country. The bottom half of one of the Inca temples remained and became known as the 12 Angle Stone, it’s a must see while in Cusco.
From there, we explored San Blas a bit more and got dinner at Limbus Restobar overlooking the city as the sunset, finishing the night with cheap drinks down the street at Km 0.
Day Three: Cusco, Peru
We got up early to walk around and get coffee before the city was awake. There was a small market in San Blas that was just opening when we stumbled across it. I bought a beautiful textile scarf from a sweet older woman who had obviously handmade everything at her table.
Breakfast was hard to find that early, but Jack’s Cafe, and Australian diner, was open and had some great breakfast options. We then got coffee from Café Dwasi Peruvian Coffee and walked around. The other cathedral in Plaza de Armas, Iglesia de la Compañía, was closed so we went to the museum next door. It was only 5 soles each and the tour guide was 20 soles and well worth it. Photos aren’t allowed inside, but the Catholic paintings and historical artifacts are amazing to see in real life.
After walking through San Blas some more and seeing all the adorable stray dogs running around breaking my heart, we got lunch at Green Point, a cute vegan restaurant. The food was just okay and the service wasn’t great but it was a nice atmosphere. We then went to Paddy’s Irish Pub for a beer overlooking the Plaza, had a Cusco-favorite Pisco sour and trout ceviche at Antigua Casona and started walking home. We made the rookie mistake of stopping into a random bar for one more drink where I had the pina colada that I now know was probably made with contaminated, unfiltered ice. I woke up at 2 am with terrible food poisoning and was down for the count for majority of the morning.
Day Four: Sacred Valley, Peru
I was still extremely unwell when we left for our Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu 2-day tour that I booked through Get Your Guide. I highly recommend this company, everything was seamless and all the required tickets and documents were taken care of for us. We set off to explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas and visit the picturesque towns of Pisaq and Ollantaytambo. I had to sit out Sacred Valley and sleep in the van after throwing up on my way out of the ancient architectural UNESCO protected site while I sent Paul off to explore without me.
The nap was healing and I started to feel mildly better by time we stopped for lunch. I was able to fully participate in the Ollantaytambo tour and hiked with the tour group to the top to see the sacred sun temple. The Incas were architects and engineers well before their time and anything they touched was made with impeccable care and detail. I met a sweet Peruvian girl at the bottom who was excited to show off her English to me and another Spanish-speaking woman who was trying to learn English and appreciated my Spanglish so much that she bought me a keychain llama when we parted ways.
Paul and I then walked to the train station and set off to Aguas Calientes, the town right before Machu Picchu. We got dinner at Full House Restaurant overlooking the river and although I still couldn’t eat much, it was one of our favorite meals while in Peru.
We stayed at the colorful Supertramp Hostel, which was probably our favorite accommodation in Peru. They also graciously let us store our backpacks there while we went to Machu Picchu the following day.
Day Five: Machu Picchu, Peru
Bright and early, our guide picked us up from our hostel and took us to the bus up to Machu Picchu. The tour guide, Joel, was phenomenal and taught us so much about the Incas and how Machu Picchu came to be. We spent about 3-4 hours there walking around and it was easily my favorite part of my time in Peru.
He did tell us that within the next 5 years, they will be closing the inside of Machu Picchu to the public and it will only be viewable from the top to preserve the ancient site. I’m beyond happy we went when we did because the inside is beautiful and Machu Picchu is so much more than just the photo from the top.
Afterward, we took the bus back and got lunch in Aguas Caliente before our train departed for our gorgeous ride through the countryside to Ollantaytambo where we switched to a bus to Cusco.
Our Airbnb in the historic center of Cusco was cute, comfortable and close to everything. We didn’t get to enjoy it much since our time was limited, so we got dinner in the Plaza and went to bed for our early start the following day.
Day Six: Manu National Park, Peru
I had booked a 3 day, 2 night tour of the Amazon a few months prior to our trip through Cusco Journeys, which was a fine option with the time we had.
In the morning, we met our guide outside our Airbnb at 5:30 am, picked up a nice Swiss couple around our age and started our journey to the Amazon. We took about 8 hours to drive to Manu National Park, stopping on the mountainside road to walk while the car drove ahead so we could spot wildlife. Around 5 pm, we arrived at the long boat and took off into the thick of the jungle. The captain, Mowgli, and his crew member, Andy, are fishermen and could navigate the river with their eyes closed.
The lodge was really nice and clean, with bug nets over each bed and private bathrooms. We went on a night tour with our guide and saw some interesting insects like poisonous spiders, a tarantula and a massive moth. Dinner was prepared by a local chef named Cecilio - every meal he made us was phenomenal.
Day Seven: The Amazon
We got up at 4:45 am to boat out to an island where we could watch parrots and macaw pairs do their daily routine of licking a clay wall for minerals. There were so many gorgeous birds of varying colors and sizes, from big macaws to tiny parakeets, all flying around on the wall and sharing the clay. We used a bird spotting scope to see them close up and watched them fly around for about an hour.
After breakfast, we took a morning trek up the mountain behind the lodge where we spotted three different types of monkeys, including the aloof howler monkey. We made it to the top of the mountain, which treated us to a view of the expansive Amazon. After hiking down and eating lunch, we set off in the boat across the river to hike through a swampy part of the jungle.
Eventually we made it to a small river in a swamp that we could raft down. Our guide used a wooden pole to push us down the river, where we saw many different types of birds. The end of the river had a sketchy tower, which we climbed and looked out over the jungle. It started to rain as we rafted back and then promptly began to pour as we hiked quickly back to the boat, soaking wet.
Day Eight: the Amazon & back
The next day after breakfast, we boated back to the port and began our trip back to Cusco. We stopped along the way to hike to a lookout point and cross a river on a wooden cart suspended above the water. Eventually we made it back to Cusco and had dinner with the two other couples in our tour group, talking about our Peru trips so far and the differences between all of our countries. Dinner and conversation with new friends was a wonderful way to end our time in Peru.
Day Nine: Flight to Quito, Ecuador
We flew via Latam Airlines to Quito, Ecuador with a layover in Lima. It was a seamless entry into the country and we got a $17 Uber for our 45 minute ride into the city to our Airbnb. There were a ton of restaurant options near our Airbnb, but we chose Nubori for sushi with an Ecuadorian twist.
Day Ten: Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador
I booked a 2-Day Tour with Ecuatraveling for Cotopaxi National Park and Quilotoa Lake. Our guide, Alex, was absolutely wonderful and we learned so much about Quito, Ecuador and the volcanoes we passed on the way to Cotopaxi. We took the bus up the bumpy road to the parking area and hiked the rest of the way up to Refugio José Ribas Lodge at 16,000 feet elevation. There we had hot chocolate, got our passports stamped with the Cotopaxi stamp, chatted with a nice American couple we met at the top and started our steep descent to the bus. The bus took us to another lot where we got bicycles and biked the road down to the lagoon at the bottom.
We then had a traditional Ecuadorian lunch at a local restaurant and were dropped off at Casa Sakiwa Hotel, set up through the tour company. We spent our evening in the lobby drinking Coca tea and chatting with a German woman we had met on our tour.
Day Eleven: Quilotoa Lake, Ecuador
Our hotel made a lovely breakfast for us and the bus picked us up on its way from Quito with a new tour group. Luckily, Alex was our guide again and we set off for a morning market where locals were selling fresh produce, typical breakfast foods and fruit drinks. From there, we stopped by a family-run art studio and cafe and participated in a traditional Quechuan dance to wake up the earth. It was a lot of fun and was a highlight of my time in Ecuador.
Next was Quilotoa Lake - a former volcano featuring an expansive blue lake. We hiked down the steep incline to the bottom and endured the elevation on the way back up. We then waited for the rest of our tour group at a local restaurant with some beers. After sharing a traditional Ecuadorian lunch, we took the bus back to Quito, where we checked into our Airbnb in Old Town with a beautiful view of the city.
Day Twelve: Quito, Ecuador
After enjoying the view from our beautiful Airbnb, we got breakfast and coffee at En Dulce. We got a taxi for $1 to the Basílica del Voto Nacional for when it opened at 9:30 am to beat the crowds. Entry tickets were only $3 a person and the grandiose Neo-Gothic cathedral is a must-see while in Quito. We walked around for a bit and then bought tickets to the towers in the Basílica for an additional $3 a person. Climbing tiny ladders to get into the towers was one of the coolest things we did in Quito and we spend over an hour there.
We then went to the Iglesia de San Francisco to walk around the museum and see the courtyard. Somehow we ended up in the bell tower, but I’m 99% sure we were not supposed to be up there so we quickly left and went to lunch. La Vid Restaurante was just opening when we walked in and they gave us a perfect table by the window overlooking Plaza Grande. Paul and I shared a bottle of wine and empanadas and thoroughly enjoyed our time.
After lunch we got our COVID tests at a local hospital and took an Uber to the Middle of the World to stand on the Equator and see Ecuador’s #1 tourist attraction for ourselves. The stairs up the monument have the history of Ecuador lining the walls and gave us new insight into the country’s history.
Our next Uber was to Cafe Mosaico for dinner with the best view of the city. They work closely with dog rescue organizations and have three dogs that live there and wander around. The view in itself is well worth the visit but the dogs are an added bonus.
Day Thirteen: Quito, Ecuador
Our final day in South America was relaxing and ended in a red-eye flight home. Being the creatures of habit that we are, we went back to En Dulche for breakfast and ordered the same thing as the previous morning.
After walking around a bit, we went back to our Airbnb and basically waited for lunch. Vista Hermosa featured a gorgeous view of the city, which was apparently an important feature for us when choosing a restaurant in Quito. Our Airbnb host was nice enough to let us stay in the Airbnb until our flight, so we hung out there after lunch and ended our trip with the best meal of our time below the equator at Somos Restaurant. The couple we talked to at the lodge in Cotopaxi recommended it to us and we had a wonderful experience.
After dinner, we got an Uber to the airport for our flight home to New York.