Andean Travel Experience

Patrick and his assistant were incredible, welcoming, and honestly it was some of the best food we ate on our entire trip!

I cannot describe how much we loved this place! The photos don't do it justice. Amazing design, big beautiful rooms, gorgeous greenery, restaurants and coffee shop on premise, we took so many pictures here. This is no standard hotel experience, it was something different. I can see why they have weddings here. Gorgeous!

Clean, spacious, comfortable. Nothing over the top but very good.

Location was great! The plaza was up the road a few blocks and it was very walkable to all things we wanted to do and see there. The rooms were clean and comfortable. They had the tea in the lobby and O2 for those struggling with the altitude. I will say it was pretty cold in the lobby, hallways and rooms. Rooms did have portable heaters though so we were warm enough when sleeping. Staff was very nice but as we don't speak great Spanish, communication was sometimes a little tricky for us. There was a great breakfast spread but we preferred the coffee from the little cafe next door. Overall, it was a great place. We stayed there three nights, two night then left for two days and then came back there for our last night.

Amazing! Knew nothing of these places before going and loved every bit of this day. Our guide, Adriel, was the best! We learned so much and had so much fun!

We have ziplined in other amazing places and countries but haven't done the climbing like we did here. It was exhilarating and the views were over the top! Guides Brian et all were great. Our day happened to be stunning and perfect weather too. Highly recommend!

Chef Fernanado taught us about local ingredients, cuisine, etc. We got a lot of history, information, samples and then fully made two dishes with the Chef. Food was delicious and Chef Fernando was very knowledgable and entertaining. My family loved this!

What's not to love? It's Machi Picchu! We will the third one, seeing and going into many of the structures. It's incredible.

We had two (altitude) sick kids so I missed this but my husband and older son said it was amazing! They recounted all they saw and learned and later that afternoon, when the kids felt a bit better, we all went back to the museum together and it was great.

The hotel was located essentially in a train station. The views of the mountains some of which seemed close enough to touch and then the snow capped peaks in the distance were simply magnificent. We enjoyed the flora in and around the hotel, and totally appreciated their excellent attempts at protecting the environment, growing their own organic and ecologically friendly produce, as well as fostering sustainability. The food was delicious, and the staff everywhere was excellent and very accommodating. The only fly in the ointment were the fumes from the trains. It was supremely convenient to have the trains stop there, but their fumes remained in the air for a while. Nothing that the hotel can control, but the only fly in the ointment as it were. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at El Albergue, and would recommend it to family and friends despite the caveat mentioned above.

Learning that this was essentially a botanical laboratory for the Incas, and learning how incredibly knowledgeable about thermodynamics, physics, botany, and engineering they were was simply awe inspiring.

Machu Picchu was interesting. Maybe because it is so well known our expectations were too high. Still very interesting to see and to learn more about the use of astronomy and its relationship to worship.

Again this was very informative and enlightening. Again Juan was excellent. Learning about the strengths and weaknesses of the various groups who preceded the Incas was completely fascinating. The different customs of each group including unusual burial practices, and seeing how some of them carried on through the Incas was really wonderful. This was a thoroughly worthwhile tour.

Sacsayhuaman was another example of Incan engineering ingenuity. Those massive stones aligned at well calculated angles to lessen the overall impact of earthquakes. Absolutely fascinating. Cusco City was also interesting and we had the good fortune to witness even more of the Peruvian culture as we encountered groups of costumed school age children performing a variety of dances which illuminated the cultural heritage of Peru. San Pedro market was intriguing. While we saw some familiar items, many of the goods were unusual. We enjoyed a delicious drink made from the lucuma fruit which is only found in Peru. This was altogether an interesting and fascinating day.

At Tipon, we managed to get there before the hordes, and found it amazingly quiet and calming. The fountains flowed behind us while we looked at the mountains in front of us. Again the Incas hydraulic prowess was once again on full display. The four fountains expelled water at exactly the same rate. At another point, the force of the water coming from higher elevations was mitigated by the placement of a stone at exactly the right height. Piquillacta … the visit to this Wari walled city was different from the first site. In direct contrast with the peace and calm of the first site, this site was more oppressive due to its emphasis on protection and its multiple layers of walls, some of which were quite high. Andahuaylillas was a lovely Andean Baroque church and the insertion of Arabic influence in the decoration of the ceiling was illuminating.

Excellent location and nice staff. But Very loud night club next to our room.

Great location, staff and rooms.

Great hotel! Fantastic way to finish a long and exhausting trip.

The local tour operator did not take us on a grill tour. This was very disappointing! He took us to a fancy lunch in a different neighborhood. So we just made the best of it.

This was truly an unbelievable day full of surprises and amazing Incan ruins. Probably our favorite activity of the entire vacation, which is really saying something.

Did not have a city tour. The tango spot was quite good.

This was a really cool way to see Lima. It was much better than riding around in a van. Italo is a great guide!

This tour is worth doing, but with very low expectations. The park is an odd cross between some water fountains and a children’s amusement park. The main event is an impressive fountain, visual show, but not worth driving across the city for.