Acclimatising in Fabulous Cusco, Peru, Cusco, Peru

Cusco (also Cuzco) is not all about the Pisco Sours, Peru’s signatory cocktail - although very scrumptious. This amazing but exhausting city is renown as the base from which to start a trek to the incredible Machu Picchu.

This time, our travel buddies from Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia are also on the bus, as they are volunteering for a few weeks in an orphanage in Cusco.

No alcohol on the bus so the boys sculled their beers before hopping on for the long journey, with the bottle of rum safely packed in a backpack.

This trip is supposed to be quite beautiful during the day so if you have time, take this opportunity.

Arriving at the uncovered bus station in Cusco, a horde of taxi and accommodation touts swamp you, badgering hard. Walk away and find a taxi outside of the bus station so you don’t get ripped off as much. Our hostel is on a no-through road so the taxi can’t drop us off at the door - walking uphill with heavy backpacks at this altitude, isn’t much fun.

If there’s one piece of advice I can give you and something I’ve learnt during the six months of travelling overland in South America, don’t go for the cheapest bus ticket, especially for long-haul journeys. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).