Itinerary help

@schnecken thanks, you are aa gold mine of info. I know that Ayacucho to Cuzco is long (I thought was more like 15 hrs). Haven't decided yet if I will stop in Andahuaylas, is it an interesting town? At the moment I am inclined to bite the bullet and go all the way to Cuzco.

@soniaberode do you think I should skip the two days Inca trail (well it's really 1 day as the second day it's MP that I want to see anyway) and spend more time in Cuzco?
In Arequipa and surrounding area I have two full days as I fly in early morning from Cuzco and fly to Lima very late the second day.

Thanks both!

Sorry, I have not been to Andahuaylas. I assume it is a very non touristy sort of place with great scenery along the way. Agree with soniaberode (not that you asked!) that it is a lot! If all you want regarding the inca trail is MP, then skip the trail. It's very likely it will be a mud slog in the rain anyway. You could take the overpriced train to Ollytatambo and spend a night there. Much less touristy and lots to see. Sacred Valley is beautiful…all the places soniaberode mentioned. Or fly back to Lima from Cuzco and skip Arequipa…but sounds like flights are booked.

Like I said before I have always found the two day Inca Trail very expensive for what is basically one day of hiking. If you don't do the Inca trail you have 4 days for Cusco, the Sacred Valley and MP. You could go to the Pisac ruins on day 1 and then continue to Ollantaytambo (don't miss the ruins). You have two options for MP. Take an evening train on day 1 from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, day 2 visit MP and take an evening train back to Ollantaytambo. Or take an early morning train to AC on day 2, visit MP and take an evening train back to Ollantaytambo (no overnight in AC). So the morning of day 3 you can go back to Cusco and visit Moray, the Maras salineras and Chinchero on the way. Day 4 would be for Cusco and the ruins north of Cusco (don't miss Sacsayhuaman).

I would consider skipping Arequipa. Yes, one day for Arequipa is enough and the Colca valley tour can be done the next day (although that would be a very long day as I pointed out in my last post). But if you skip Arequipa you would have two extra days for your trip from Paracas to Cusco.
Or you could skip Paracas because you might find Arequipa and the Colca valley more interesting as you are more into people and cultures and less into landscape.

If you do take the train to Aguas Calientes you should buy tickets online (Peru Rail or Inca Rail). You can buy tickets for MP here:

http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/

Tickets for 2017 go on sale late December. You can choose to climb one of the mountains at MP. We climbed MP Montana and loved it. The other one is Huayna Picchu.

Thanks, I am sold, I will skip the indeed very expensive two days Inca Trail and spend more time in the Sacred Valley.
I will see also if I can take a later flight to Arequipa to gain even more time.
Thanks!

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