Mountain Lodges of Peru
My favorite night was at Huacahuasi because I loved the waterfall view and hot tub.
Mountain Lodges of Peru invited me on a beautiful trip through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu.
This was a 6-day, 5-night trip hosted by Mountain Lodges of Peru for travel professionals. The first night was in XO Art House in Cusco, the second was in Lamay Lodge in the Sacred Valley, the third was Huacahuasi Lodge in the mountains north of the valley, the fourth was at Andean Wings in the Sacred Valley and the last was at Inkaterra El Mapi in Aguas Calientes, near Machu Picchu. Andean Wings and Inkaterra El Mapi aren’t included in this review because they’re not owned by MLP.
Here are the highlights of my six days with Mountain Lodges of Peru.
XO Art House in Cusco
I loved my room at XO Art House, which had the classiest kitchenette I’ve ever seen, hidden in a wooden cabinet. I appreciated the refillable glass water bottles and other environmentally friendly touches but my favorite part was definitely my room’s dog sculpture painted with gold leaves and paradise tanagers.
The first day’s hike with Mountain Lodges of Peru
The first day we hiked from the village of Amaru to Viacha and then down to the Pisac Inca archeological site. The highest point on the hike was 4,328m/14,200ft above sea level, which was fine for me because I live at 3,500m/11,000ft. However, most of the group had come from sea level the day before and really struggled with the altitude.
Lamay Lodge
The gardens, view and llamas at Lamay Lodge were wonderful, but my room had a few issues. The thermostat was broken, so they had to bring me a space heater. Also, my shower didn’t drain and within a minute I was standing in an inch of cold water because the tile floor cooled the water quickly. My room didn’t have any furniture near the windows to enjoy the view and I had to bring my balcony furniture in when it got too cold to sit outside. The food was okay and the service was great, so I recommend Lamay Lodge with only the caveat that you have to be comfortable speaking up if something isn’t working.
Day 2 with Mountain Lodges of Peru
From Lamay Lodge, we visited the town of Lamay, then drove up into the mountains to visit Ancasmarca. Read my Ancasmarca blog to learn more about this unique Inca archeological site. Next we drove to Choquecancha for lunch and to visit the town. Read my Choquecancha blog to learn about the community and how to visit.
Huacahuasi Lodge
Huacahuasi was by far my favorite place on this whole trip. My room was much more simple than at XO Art House or at Lamay Lodge, but I loved my room’s waterfall view and private deck with a hot tub. It doesn’t look big, but the hot tub comfortably fits four. The main part of the lodge was beautifully decorated with plants and textile art, though with that view I didn’t notice the inside as much. The food was great, the service was excellent and loved every part of my experience at Huacahuasi Lodge.
Day 3 with Mountain Lodges of Peru
From Huacahuasi Lodge we drove to Huilloq where we got to participate in a ceremony to thank the Pachamama for the food and everything else she provides for us. Next we had lunch in Pumamarca were I bought another weaving from a woman named Antonia. I always buy textile art when I’m in the Andes, partly because it’s beautiful art and partly to support the artists who keep these traditions alive.
From Pumamarca part of the group walked down to Ollantaytambo and the other part visited a nearby archeological site then drove down to Ollantaytambo. We visited the town’s original Inca streets and a few homes, including one with a sleeping cat and dozens of cuy (guinea pigs) running around the dirt floor. Read my travel tips for the town of Ollantaytambo here. From Ollantaytambo, we drove to Andean Wings near Urubamba to spend the night.
Day 4 with Mountain Lodges of Peru
We visited the Ollantaytambo archeological site, which you can read about here. I’ve visited Ollantaytambo at least twenty times, but it’s such a beautiful place I’m always happy to visit again. Next we took the Expedition Train to Aguas Calientes, checked into Inkaterra El Mapi, then went to have lunch at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. Read my Inkaterra review here. I had some free time that afternoon, so I went to find Paddington.
Day 5 with Mountain Lodges of Peru
Most of the group went to Machu Picchu in the morning, but since I’ve been about a dozen times I slept in. Read my blogs about Machu Picchu here and here. After they got back, we hiked up to Allcamayo Waterfall, which is beautiful and absolutely worth the time if you have a spare 2 hours in Aguas Calientes. We had lunch at Sumaq, which was lovely, then took the Vistadome Train back to Ollantaytambo. Read my blog about the differences between the Expedition and Vistadome trains.
Our big adventure north of the Sacred Valley started in Calca and went to Lares, Choquecancha, Huacahuasi, Huilloc and Pumamarca before returning to the Sacred Valley in Ollantaytambo.
