Mountain climbing has been on my mind for a while and we have some interesting climbs in the South East Asia region. After several failed attempts to climb this year (we ended up in JKT and Perth instead), we turned our "failed" South Africa trip into a "do nothing and chill (but still climb Mount Rinjani" holiday. Yes. Climbing a mountain is our idea of doing nothing. I mean, it's just a 3276m uphill no? Well, more on that in a bit.

It's not mandatory to climb Mt Rinjani with a trekking company. You can read about some pros/cons here. However, I'll definitely recommend going with a company, just choose a right one! It makes a lot of difference to your comfort and safety. 

Which trekking company to choose for Mt Rinjani?

We went with Adi Trekker given their excellent reviews and paid USD280 each (not inclusive of tips). We were told it was only gonna be us but there were 2 other trekkers and i think they paid lesser (probably USD250). You could possibly bargain with Adi if you want but we didn't. Of course, there are plenty of  cheaper options if you were to book your trip in Lombok but you are likely to end up in a very big group (we've seen groups that are 12 - 14 pax with only 2 guides), and you will definitely not be as comfortable.

Our deluxe trek included the following:
1. Land transfers- Between airport/jetty/hotel and Senaru before and after the trip.
2. One night stay in a basic "hotel" (more like homestay type) at Senaru prior to the start of the trek. There's no AC but at least there's a hot shower.
3. Guide, porters, and entrance fee. The porters will carry all the food, drinks, and tents for you. You'll only need to carry your own backpack (clothes and gear) and other personal snacks if you wish. You can also pay more to hire a porter to carry your personal items.
4. Heaps of food with fruits, water, beverage, snacks (chocolate wafers and cookies) throughout the trek. Think local Indonesian food that is hearty and comforting. We also had Bintang beer! We were provided with camping chairs to sit on when we have our meals.
5. Good tent with thick mattress
6. Super warm sleeping bags with pillows
7.Toilet tent (pitched at campsite) to protect your modesty. Other than that, it's just a dump hole.

Tipping

We didn't quite know how to tip and it wasn't easy finding the "market rate". So based on what we found, for a 3d2n, you should tip 100k per porter, and 300k for the guide. Thing is we didn't know if it's supposed to be a group thing or what. So that's what we gave for the 2 of us. Feel free to give more for their hard work! We also gave our trekking poles to our guide as well.

Which Mt Rinjani itinerary to pick?

The itineraries are all the same, so pick the one that fits your schedule. If you wanna summit and trek different terrains, do the 3d2n, or 4d3n for a slightly less strenuous version (since it's the same route with just more time to complete it). To save time, minimize discomfort (of not showering) and maximize chilling, we opted for a 3D2N summit trek via Sembalun. TIP: Starting at Sembalun is a better idea for a summit climb as you'll have more energy for the summit on the 2nd day instead of on the last day if you had started from Senaru. 

How to prepare for a Mt Rinjani summit trek?

One would think that with regular runs, HIIT, yoga, and wakeboarding sessions, this mountain wouldn't be that much of a big deal right? WRONG. You probably should do lots of stairs and rock climbing, and inclined marathon runs to prep for this trip. We didn't die but there were times we questioned wth did we choose to torture ourselves. If it's for the view, forget it guys. You can enjoy an equally gorgeous sunset from your ocean bedroom in Maldives. But if you are out for a physical and mental challenge, Mt Rinjani will deliver.

Tips on packing for your Mt Rinjani trek!

1. Sweat wicking clothes for the regular treks- my yoga wear served me very well (it's Liquido pants and Lululemon).
2. Warm clothes for the nights and summit- Waterproof windbreaker is definitely required for your summit trek. I also bought the Forclax 200 Women's hiking fleece ($19.90) to keep me warm at night. You should probably also bring gloves to keep your fingers toasty for the summit climb and a beanie if you don't have a jacket hood.
3. Trekking boots- Recommended! Sure you can go around in sneakers (the porters can climb in slippers) but you'll be in for a slippery hike. Our Timberlands were very grippy and provided great ankle support (i could have sprained my ankle when i landed on it but i didn't thanks to my boots). Sure they may be expensive but we used them so well. Mine was the waterproof Goretex ones and they were really light and comfortable and i didn't even have to break them in. Plus i didn't get any blisters as well! The same cannot be said for Jr and he suffered from 2 huge blisters at the back of his heels. Sure they are expensive but it's the best buy for the trip (other than the trekking poles).
4. Trekking socks- Remember to get the high ones and make sure it forms a muffin top around the top of your boots so that sand/soil/rocks doesn't get into your boots easily). I bought a pair of warmer ones from Timberland ($25/pair) and also the Forclaz 500 mid high trek socks ($12.90/2pairs)
5. Trekking poles- Recommended! Ours came in very handy and helped usa great deal, especially with steep downhills. We shared our poles with the couple in our group on the last day as the descend can be quite slippery. They are a little trickier with uphills because you will have to switch between free climbing and using your poles to provide some leverage. They are very useful for the summit too!
6. Headlamp- To illuminate the tent at night, nightly toilet runs, and summit climb. 80 lumens is good enough.
7. Wet wipes and Snack Brand Prickly Heat powder- Recommended! This is the best solution for not showering. Do a proper wipe down and then powder everywhere. Plus it also keeps the bugs away apparently. #endorsedbySingaporeArmy
8. Medication and plasters (lots of it)- You may experience some altitude sickness and breathlessness (not sure if it's just from the climbing). Blisters are very common and i'll recommend getting the bigger blister plasters from Guardian or Watsons.

TIP: Decathalon is the best place to get your trek stuff IF you're not a serious, heavy duty trekker/mountaineer. We got our dry bags, ponchos, 80 lumens Onnight 100 hiking headlamp ($9.90), Arpenaz 200 hiking poles ($13.90/pair) and socks from there. Jr also bought a backpack for $40 and it has all the right compartments, even hooks for the poles.

What to expect? 

Day 1
We were picked up by our driver at our Senaru accommodation before 7am for a 1 hour ride to Sembalun Village (1150m). The climb up to our campsite at Sembalun Crater Rim (2639m) started proper at about 8am.

The first part of the trek was through the rather open plains with an increasing incline. The journey only gets tougher from here. With a small group, you can take breaks any time you want but generally there's a rest stop every 1 to 2 hours. Lunch was at POS 3 Pada Balong (1800m) after a 3.5 to 4h climb.

Here we experienced our first camp meal! Everything that we ate/drank was carried by our amazing porters. Just imagine the load they have to carry! Even though they climb in slippers, they are always faster than us. We are always welcomed by hot food and beverage when we reach our lunch spot/campsite.

Our first meal which was a mountain of stir fry vegetables, fried chicken, omelette, tofu and tempeh, chicken frank, and rice. On the drinks menu, there's Pocari Sweat, coffee/tea (we always chose ginger tea), hot chocolate, and water. A fruit platter is served at the end and there's a mix of apple, orange, rock melon, watermelon, banana, and pineapple.

A gruelling 3-hour steep climb to the Sembalun Crater Rim (2639m) quickly followed after lunch. The weather was pretty cool and that certainly helped with the climb. However, we really weren't prepared for the continuous "stair-climbing" and it took me the whole of day 1 to get used to it. 

And guess what? Our porters had already pitched our tents and were cooking dinner when we arrived! While we were "washing up" with our wet wipes and powder bath, we were served a snack to reward us for the tough climb!

Fresh goreng pisang (fried banana fritters) with chocolate sauce and cheese, with our choice of hot ginger tea. LIFE IS GOOD.

Plus this sunset view of the Segara Anak lake while having dinner. Chicken curry (lontong style with mild coconut flavor and light spice) with rice, Bintang, and also a surprise popcorn snack for dinner!

Once the sun sets, there's nothing else to do but rest. Make sure you get all your packing done while there is still light. A night light is a must and our head lamp served us very well for toilet trips and packing at night. We went to bed by 7.30pm!

Day 2

The day starts at 2.30am for a light sandwich breakfast and coffee and we started the 1+km climb up to the summit in the cold darkness. It's important to keep warm! I had my gloves and jacket on the whole time.

The first 20% of the climb is actually one of the hardest part (about an hour)! Pace yourself for it. It's easier to get out of the way of climbers for a short rest here. Don't worry, it gets slightly easier after this. You have a brief 30 mins long trek before continuing with a steep 1h climb up the loose volcanic rocks to the summit. 

We summited just in time to catch the sunrise at about 6.40am. That took us about 3.5h with some puking involved (LOL #notme). You may want to start a bit earlier just in case you miss the sunrise. 

At 3726m above sea level! Jr was starving by the time he reached the top and immediately devoured an entire tray of Tim Tams! It's crazy cold up there at the summit and we honestly couldn't bear to stay there for too long. Told you it wasn't for the sunrise. Plus what goes up must come down. Get ready for a sandy ride down as the scree can be very slippery. Jr suffered from a very bad scratch on his forearm and i landed on my bum too many times.

Our descent from the summit was a lot faster and we reached back just a little after 8am. The day doesn't end here. After an hour's breakfast, we continued downhill to the lake. It's all huge rocks on the way down and took us about 2.5h. Jr and i are better with downhills (the poles really helped) but we were all moving quite fast because we were promised a soak in the hot springs near the lake! 

Time for a swim! Mind you the water at Segara Anak lake is cold. The hot springs are about 100m from the lake. Do not make the mistake of wearing your slippers there. Our guide played a joke on us and i really felt like killing him. Jokes aside, our guide Mala was awesome and helped us a lot during our climb. The hot springs were awesome and really helped to soothe the aches, even if it was for a short while.

The joy from the hot springs and the comforting nasi goreng lunch did not last long as we started on a crazy steep scramble up to the Senaru Crater Rim. It was 3 hours of climbing and a large part of it involved using our hands to pull ourselves up the rocks. Plus it also started raining and well it's not that easy climbing with poles and poncho. Dinner was in our tent due to the rain and we each had a mountain of fried maggi mee with our hot ginger tea as usual. The insane day of trekking left us pretty much dead to the world that night and we clocked an impressive 12 hours of sleep!

Day 3
Be prepared by the ache from Day 2's climb. Thankfully it's downhill all the way. That said, it's still rather harsh on the knees and ankles. The forest terrain at this part was a bit slippery. We were really thankful for our poles once again. We were still expecting a long trek actually but it ended much earlier! It was about 2-2.5h to our very last lunch on Mt Rinjani and we had spaghetti bolognese! 

For the first time I finished all my food (only because I asked for a small portion). 

Celebratory Bintang!! The trek ended quite shortly after lunch and we got to Senaru Village by 12.30pm for our transfer to the next segment of our travels. 

Happy Smelly Campers! This was the most exhausting thing I've done in my life but it was certainly a memorable and enjoyable experience for the both of us. Also, if you want to stress test your relationship, try climbing a mountain! LOL Needless to say Jr and I aced this challenge. :)) Just don't bring your princessy other half here unless you want to be killed, or to kill someone. 

Finally our first Peruvian cevicheria in Singapore! Given our love for raw fish (just look at the number of sushi and sashimi restaurants, plus the recent poke craze), i'm surprised it's taking so long for ceviche to take off! TONO Cevicheria is also Asia’s first-ever Peruvian Cevicheria opened by Peruvian Chef Daniel Chavez, co-owner and chef of OLA Cocina del Mar. Expect authentic flavors and strong Pisco Sour from the team of Lima-trained Latin American chefs.

If you're wondering what Peruvian food is like, well... It's kinda fusion, with influence from the Incans, Spanish, Africans, Italians, Chinese, and Japanese. We can see a mix of all flavors in their national dish, the ceviche. (I'm just making this up, there isn't a national dish but if there should be one, it has to be ceviche.) Learn more about Peruvian food in my post on my Lima food tour here.

For the uninitiated, ceviche is made with fresh seafood, citrus (usually lime), chillies, and onions. The creamy marinade that comes from the run-off of the seafood is called Tiger's Milk and it is used to cure the seafood. What's best with ceviche? Pisco Sour. The one served at TONO was delightful though it could do with a bit more Sour. 

At TONO, there are a few types of ceviche to pick from. Starting with my favorite Tono Ceviche ($28). This mild but balanced dish uses an interesting tiger's milk which features charred ginger, and smoked aji amarillo (peppers) among the typical citrus-fish jus. Plus there's an added crunch from the crispy baby calamari to go with the fresh fish.

If you want something to kick start your appetite, the Nikkei Ceviche ($24) is a tart Japanese style yellowfin tuna salad with a soy, mirin, hondashi tiger's milk. There's a lot of lime in this one! There is some avocado puree with the dish but i couldn't detect much of it due to the overwhelming acidity.

Another Japanese inspired dish is the Yellow Pituco Tiraditos ($24). The yellowfin tuna is sliced thinly in this one (almost carpaccio style), and dressed with chilli vinaigrette and some cream sauce. The spiciness is one that will take you by surprise and give you a hacking cough (like that when you choke on ma la). The garnishes depends on chef's mood for the day and we had radishes, crispy quinoa and plantain chips on ours.

Fun fact of the day. There are more than 4000 varieties of potatoes in Peru. Well we only had 1 type in the Escabeche causa ($22) which is served with 2 types of chicken (chicken shreds mixed with mayo, and grilled chicken with panca chilli sauce) served with potato mash and escabeche sauce. The piquant sauce is made with fresh peppers and aji panca (dried red peppers), garlic, tomatoes and onions, with chicken stock. The aji panca gives the dish a light smokiness.

Skip the Jalea ($32), which is essentially a crispy seafood platter with tapioca chips, salsa criolla and smoked chili mayo. It's not that it's not nice, it's just that there's nothing special about it. Plus we can always get more interesting seafood elsewhere in Singapore.

Same goes for the Lomo Saltado ($40), a Chinese influenced stir-fried beef with red wine vinegar and the other typical Chinese aromatics. As with their Chi-Fa (Peruvian Chinese food stalls), this is served with french fries and rice. My take? I'd have the authentic Chinese stir-fry. 

Anticuchos (chicken or beef, $22/25) are meat skewers which have been marinated in a mix of red wine vinegar and aji panca before being seared on a plancha. It is served with a Chalaquita sauce made with a little tomato, pepper, onions and white tiger's milk (used in ceviche clasico). The beef was more juicy than the chicken skewers. Peruvian meat dishes, actually most dishes, have varying degrees of sourness. It's appetizing at the start but sometimes you just want something heavy to anchor the meal. 

Thankfully we had the Arroz con Mariscos ($34) a seafood rice with crabmeat, fish, prawns, and calamari in aji panca, aji amarillo and achiote oil base. Long grain rice is used here and provides more bite. The seafood remained succulent as they areseared separately before being folded into the rice. 

Peruvians love their sweets and i had too many alfajores con dulce de leche when I was in Peru but these Alfajores ($12) at TONO are way better! The light butter cookies with dulce de leche and mango mousse simply disintegrates into powder when you bite into them. The dulce de leche is housemade, as is the mango mousse. Both are delightful without being cloying.

More rice for desserts? Sure if it's Combinado ($12), a comforting spiced vanilla rice pudding and purple corn Mazamora. The rice pudding is made of bomba rice cooked with milk, cream, sugar, orange peel and vanilla, with coconut puree added at the very end. While the purple Maxamora syrup may look strange, it's made with Christmasy ingredients like star anise, apples, and quince, along with pineapple skin and purple corn. It made me miss the sweet Chicha Morada drink which is served everywhere in Peru. 

Make sure you call ahead for a table at TONO. They are packed everyday already!

Tono Cevicheria

7 Fraser Street

#01-49/50 Duo Galleria

Singapore 189356

Tel: +65 6702 7320 / 9452 1008

Weekdays: 12 - 2.30pm, 6 - 10pm
Sat: 6 - 10pm

Dining in the Downtown CBD cannot get better than at Cook & Brew at The Westin Singapore. Located at level 33, the casual gastro-bar provided an unparalleled view of the Marina Bay area. Food wise, there's more than just bar bites. The menu here has a mix of South-East Asia flavors and hearty (for lack of a better description) Western food. 

The best time to visit? FRIDAYS. House pour wines and beers are only $10 and cocktails are priced at $12 nett! You can also get bottles from $88. Plus, the live band gets the party going from 6pm.

Always order the Whipped Buffalo Milk Ricotta ($15) to start. The winning combination of smooth airy cream with an earthy truffle honey on warm crusty chewy bread dissolved our resolve to save space for the other dishes.

Plus theres more than enough spread to go around. Hee. 

We were surprised by an entire head of Roasted Broccoli ($14) with a fiery honey Dijon and Sriracha dressing and pops of acidity from the sweet pickles, chili and lemon. Chop the florets up and toss them in the Korean style sweet and spicy sauce. How's this for an interesting bar bite?

A hot new restaurant opening in Tanjong Pagar is Venue by Sebastian at Downtown Gallery. This casual modern European restaurant with a touch of Asian flavors is helmed by Chef-Owner Sebastian Ng, former Chef-Owner of the now defunct Restaurant Ember, and Chef de Cuisine Jonathan Lee, former Head Chef of Artichoke.

The sharing plates menu highlights some of Chef Sebastian's signatures from Ember across eight dish categories including, ‘Toast’, ‘Fritti & Greens’, ‘Pasta’, ‘Raw, Cured & Smoked’, ‘Pan, Coal & Roast’, ‘Sides’ and ‘Sweets’.

From the toast section, I enjoyed the toast with the foie gras mousse ($12) the most. Who doesn't like a creamy pate on fresh crunchy bread? The chopped seasonal mushrooms with truffle oil ($8) could have been given a creamier texture, or at least something to bind the finely chopped pieces. Or do what we did and the foie gras with the mushrooms before spreading it on the toast.

Under the Fritti & Greens, highlights for us include the cauliflower fritti with spicy mint aioli ($10), grilled Spanish gem lettuce with burrata and mentaiko vinaigrette ($19) and the lovely seasonal Jerusalem artichoke soup with crispy duck ($8). Cauliflowers are such great snacks and i swear you wouldn't be able to stop popping these crunchy bites of florets that have been lightly coated and deep-fried.

As much as I love my raw and cold salads, the grilled version of the Spanish gem lettuce fared better than the cold one, which was bland in comparison even with the anchovy sauce. For $9, I'd rather get a salad elsewhere.

There is no reason to travel to the western part of Singapore except for food. For Spanish paella, we are happy to trot down to UNA at One Rochester. Plus it's a fantastic spot to wind down with sangria in this lovely colonial bungalow with fairy lights. 

The menu consists of Spanish offerings of tapas, paellas and parilla (grill) specialties.

You will not go wrong with the crowd-pleasing Gambas Al Ajillo ($22), made with fresh tiger prawns sautéed in olive oil, white wine, garlic, parsley and a kick of chili. We couldn't stop dipping the bread into the aromatic infused olive oil.  

The Patatas Bravas ($10) may seem plain but the potato bites were wonderfully crispy. The spicy tomato-base brava sauce and aioli made them even more irresistible.

Cusco Peru is the center of the universe according to the Incans and it was without a doubt an unchanging component of our South America trip because of Machu Picchu! Check out our South America itinerary here). Well, Cusco is a lot more than just Machu Picchu and we found out through trips to the various museums and ancient sites. So here is what we did in Cusco in 4 days. 

To get to Cusco, you'll have to fly in from Lima. There are flights throughout the day and will only take you about 1.5h to get to the Inca capital. We took LATAM airlines for our flights in South America. 

You are likely to experience some mild symptoms of altitude sickness in Cusco, more so than at Machu Picchu which is at a lower elevation. Take it easy for the first day when you arrive. 

Have your meds ready, and drink lots of Coca tea to help relieve dizziness and headaches. The tea is available at your hotel (for sure), and all around town and the sights.

STAY- CUSCO
We stayed at Hotel Eco Inn Hotel Cusco. It's a 3 star hotel that is spacious and clean. It may be some distance from the main town area but it wasn't much of an issue since we were always picked up and dropped off from our tours.  We were surprised by the quality of the food when we had several quick meals at the hotel before and after our tours. The breakfast spread is also quite substantial and yes to guacamole and other Andean fare for breakfast!

SEE- CUSCO
We spent an afternoon in the city, visiting the Main Square, the Cusco Cathedral, and the Coricancha (Qorikancha) temple (the Christian monastery of Santo Domingo was built on top of it). We marvelled at the Inca architecture all around town and were enriched by our guide's commentary as we went around the cathedral. I'll definitely recommend going on a guided tour. 

Cusco itself was laid out to represent a jaguar and Coricancha was located at the tail. Coricancha contains the Temple of the Sun which the most sacred site in the Inca religion and it is also considered the very centre of the Inca world. Massive walls of the complex were built from large stone blocks finely cut and fitted together without mortar. 

In Inca symmetry, the second most important sacred site in the city - Sacsayhuaman - was located at the head of the jaguar. It's a short drive from the main town and we were wowed by the massive construction here.

We continued with our small-group tour to the Sacred Valley the following day. Star attractions are the markets and the cities of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. There are plenty of tour companies around the Plaza de Armas in Cusco offering these tours costing between US$15 to 25 for a big group of up to 30pax (meals/entrance fees not included). Tours operate on market days i.e. Tue, Thu, and Sun. I'd recommend you do this if you only have a day for this. Alternatively, hire a taxi and take a guide for US$150 onwards. If not, try navigating the local bus but be warned that it'd be very tiring.

Sacred Valley's climate and fertile soil is perfect for agriculture then and now. 

The colorful Pisac market where you can buy silver, alpaca fur, and traditional weaves among other knick knacks. I bought a Machu Picchu sun hat which proved to be the best buy for going about Cusco (careful of the burns)! The tour will bring you to a lunch stop in Urubamba.

Then it was off to Ollantaytambo. We wondered how these massive rocks were brought up the mountain to construct this site without the use of wheels back then. 

Our tour ended with a transfer to the Ollantaytambo train station for our train ride to Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes). 

The ride takes about 90 minutes. You could either take the Incarail or Perurail. Both offers different class of service. We went with Incarail's Expedition Train and they offer complimentary beverage and interesting Andean cookies. I was quite impressed with Peru coffee brew that was offered. 

STAY AGUAS CALIENTES (MACHU PICCHU)

We stayed at El Mapi by Inkaterra, which is a cheaper and more contemporary option from the luxurious Inkaterra. It reminded me a little of Point Yamu by COMO. Breakfast spread was more than sufficient though the dinner we had at the restaurant on-site was far from mind-blowing. Good news is that there are plenty to eat around town where the hotel is conveniently located. 

SEE MACHU PICCHU

The plan was to wake early and catch the first bus (5.30-6am) from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu. We were supposed to climb Huayna Picchu which will give us a view of Machu Picchu (you need a ticket for this). However, by this leg of our trip, we were sick of having to wake so bloody early to catch our transfers and all so we decided that we could always go later.  

Be prepared for the bus queue wait!

Well guess what, we completely missed Huayna Picchu because 1. We "climbed" the wrong thing (ended up touring MP on our own) 2. We realized at the end of our little tour that Huayna Picchu entrance is only open at certain hours so if you miss the window, you can't enter even if you have a ticket. 

Well good news is that we thoroughly explored the citadel, once on our own, and a second time with our private guide. HUR HUR.

Give the walk at least 2 hours. It's a huge compound and there's plenty to see. It's good to go with a guide so that you'll learn more about the place.

Part of the Ican trek route

As you can obviously tell, we did not do the Incan trek (there's a 2d1n and a 4d3n option) as we took a while to plan our itinerary and by the time things were firmed, there were no more passes to do the trek. If you'd like to do that, make sure you book it in advance online. 

We had the most exciting train ride back from Aguas Calientes to Poroy (3h 45mins). Hello train fault! We thought it was a 'Train to Busan' moment when the lights went out and we were stuck on the tracks for a really long time. Thankfully our local escort was super on the ball and they appeared miraculously on the tracks and 'rescued' us and sent us back to our hotel. We didn't even have to call them. Book your land package with Peru Interact guys! FYI they settled all the logistics for us- accom, transfers, sightseeing for our South America trip, according to how we planned it. I'd say it's a semi-private and exclusive tour. Not sure what happened to the rest of the people on the train. Maybe they were eaten by zombies.

EAT- CUSCO

Now about food. There are plenty of options to eat in Cusco, but make sure you check out Chicha by Gaston Acurio (we dined at his Amazonian restaurant Amaz and it was AMAZing). There are also outlets in Lima and Arequipa if you missed this. Of course if you have the change in Lima, get a table at Peru's most celebrated Chef's flagship restaurant Astrid & Gaston. Traditional Andean cuisine is served here, think superfoods and flavorful meats. End your meal with a queso helado, a cheese ice cream flavored with cinnamon. And don't miss the pisco based cocktails.

Next, Pachapapa was also recommended by our Lima food guide and they serve traditional Peruvian dishes in a homey courtyard. They are best known for its cuy horniado con hucatay y ají panca (whole guinea pig roasted with Peruvian herbs and hot yellow peppers) and Pachamanca (assortment of tubers, corn and meats baked in a traditional ground-oven). located in the heart of Cusco’s San Blas neighborhood, directly in front of the San Blas Cathedral. 

Enjoy a variety of Peruvian dishes on a buffet spread at Tunupa. We were brought to this restaurant for lunch while on our tour to the Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo. The buffet spread is very extensive and there were more than enough options to give us satisfied. Jr have seconds of the ceviche that is made on the spot, while i kept going back for the Aji de gallina, a classic Peruvian chicken dish cooked in a creamy amarillo peppers-ground walnut-cheese sauce. They also serve guinea pig in some form (carpaccio and terrine). They also have another outlet in Cusco city main square.

After our Machu Picchu trek x 2, we were starving by the time we got back to Aguas Calientes. A quick search online brought us to Indio Feliz, a charming restaurant that serves Franco-Peruvian food in ridonculous portions. We ordered a 3 course set meal and a quiche (because I wanted something small), and I swear it could feed a village.

The main dish of Mango and Chicken was made with half a chicken and came with a full plate of roasted vegetables, and another plate of chips. The French Onion Soup also came in a mini pot as opposed to a regular soup bowl.

This 4 day 3 night Cusco itinerary will work if you are fine with missing the Incan trek. There is still a fair amount of activity in this one if you're not all that couch potato as well!

XOXO
Travelerintransit