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Given that you are flying into Lima from the UK, I think the first thing to do is The Santa Cruz hike. It will take a day by bus to Huaraz, you should spend a couple of days acclimatizing to the altitude with hikes above the town ("hike high, sleep low" is the mountaineer's adage) and then do the trek, which will take four days. And then a day to get back to Lima. That is one week gone! BTW- Huaraz is the trekking and mountaineering capital of South America, close to over 60 peaks that are 6000 meters or higher. If you go in June, you should be able to join an organized group. There are a number of decent agencies in town who put it all together for a reasonable price. You'll have a great into to Peru! Check out this post if you want to see some more info, maps, and pix of the Quebrada Santa Cruz hike.

http://wp.me/p25mXk-px

You could easily spend a week in Cusco and on your visit to Machu Picchu. In this case, you would fly from Lima to Cusco; taking the bus takes 24 hours or so and is not worth the pain! You will be week-acclimatized for Cusco when you arrive. It is an amazing city of 300,000 at 3000 meters, having been the capital of the Inc Empire and then Spanish capital for the Andean region. If you're into hiking, why not see if places are available for the Inca Trail when you will be there. If, not there are a number of alternative hikes that are worth your time.

I really can't comment on Kuelap, not having been there. It does sound like it would be worth a few days too.

Good luck in trying to cram it all in. Sometimes it is better to do less and enjoy it more.

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While Cusco/MachuPicchu and Huaraz mountain area attract a lot of tourists, Kuélap and its environment still are very quiet and pristine. That is its attraction, I found. Machu Picchu and Huaraz are majestic. Machu Picchu as an archeological site, Huaraz as a mountain area. Kuélap as an archeological site is not majestic but intriguing, not inundated with visitors, pleasantly rural in the cloud forests. Nearby Chachapoyas and Leymebamba are also worth a visit. A very different part of Peru. Yes, it is reasonable to spend 4 or 5 days on each (Cusco/MP, Huaraz area, Kuélap and environment).

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ok, thanks for the tips. I'm really hoping not to have to leave Kuelap out of it if I can fit it in (4 or 5 days in the same spot usually makes me restless anyway). I'd love to see the cloud forest in Peru if possible.

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Kuelap is definitely impressive and gives you a view of a different civilization than the Inca. There are many other archaeological ruins which have recently just been discovered also in the peaks of these mountains around Chachapoyas. I went on a tour where we traveled to another very large complex which has been discovered only five years ago and is still covered with plants. It's about a day away from Kuelap and you take a horse/mule through a rain forest with a guide to get there. I would also recommend Leymebamba where there is the museum where they are studying over 200 mummies found at the Laguna de los Condores. If you would like to go to the laguna, it takes about three days since it's in a very remote area and you can hike or go by horse/mule. If you decide to take a bus between Chachapoyas to Cajamarca and then go back to Lima, you can also stop at some hot water baths close to Celendin to relax! Have fun!