My experience taking an 11-hour touristic bus journey from Cusco to Puno (Peru)

After a long but worthwhile excursion to Rainbow Mountain I turned around first thing next morning for a touristic bus adventure across southern Peru. Cab picked us up from the hotel at oh-six-hundred and took us to the bus terminal shared by Peru Hop, Bolivia Hop, and Inka Express.

We were on the Inka Express. Their website goes into more detail on the route. Some might quibble with their descriptions:

Not sure all of the stops were either 'joyas' or 'ocultas'. And I don't know I'd go all the way to 'delicious' with the buffet lunch. The guide was very good, I'll give them that. But I'll cover all of this below.

Between Cusco and Puno the route includes the following stops:

* La Iglesia San Pedro Apostól in Andahuaylillas

* Racqhi, templo de Wiracocha

* The buffet lunch restaurant in Marangani

* A scenic mirador in Abra La Raya

* And the Museo Arqueológico de Pucará

Here is the fun illustration of the route on the Inka Express website.

And this is how it looks in Google Maps, which shows about 7 hours worth of bus ride. Which means our time on bus to time at touristic stops ratio was about 1.75:1.

I was comforted to see that our bus driver had a good luck pair of toritos riding with us.

First stop was the church that is supposedly the Sistine Chapel of the Americas. Town was pretty quiet.

We got some of the story about the church. No pictures of videos allowed, so all I got were one of the facade and another facing out toward the plaza in front.

Then a couple more scenery / vibe shots. At every stop along this route there were places trying to convince you to try Coatl coffee. No thanks.

Two hours into the day and one stop checked off the list. Back on the bus for about 90 minutes until we pull in to Racqhi. Upon arrival there is a modest entrance right off the shoulder of the main route with convenient bus parking.

Then you stroll for a bit until you get to the main attraction. Of all the stops during the day this one was by far the most interesting and worthwhile. Snapped a handful of shots.

And then we had some free time to browse the artesanía and souvenirs before continuing onward.

My colleague and I did pick up a few small clay dishes from one of the women set up in the plaza, so we did our part of contributing economically to the community.

About an hour down the line from Racqhi we stopped for our delicious buffet lunch. Here's my plate:

To be fair, there were certainly other items available in the buffet. But by my calculations we had another 5+ hours on a bus. Bathroom facilities on the bus and at the subsequent stops were of dubious quality and comfort. So rather than roll the dice about how anything might detonate in my stomach, I played it safe.

75 minutes later we rolled up to the scenic viewpoint of Abra La Raya. Judging by the other buses around us this did not seem to be a 'joya oculta'. But it was nice scenery. If I had not spent the previous day hiking through hours of beautiful terrain leading to / from Rainbow Mountain I might have been more excited by this. Snapped the obligatory pics and re-boarded the bus.

90 minutes later we rolled into Pucará. I had high hopes for Pucará. During my day of sightseeing and craftiness I had learned about the torito de Pucará and even painted my own (he's now occupying a place of honor in my living room). I had visions of Pucará being this charming town full of quality artisans, akin to the Pueblos Mágicos that we have here in México. Nope. Pretty dead in the main plaza. And we were there at 245pm on a Saturday. Yikes. Couple of small tables set up by the most optimistic of souvenir vendors. That's it. No one else in town except us and our bus.

We got a little tour of the museum. My highlight was the torito poster.

Then got an ice cream at this convenience store.

Then we left. Two hours later we completed the journey, arriving safely at the Puno bus terminal.

Area surrounding the bus terminal is modest. Not really a place to hang out in. I did get a decent bag of the Peruvian popcorn, though, on our way out of town a couple days later.

I also had the good fortune of running into this malcriada posted up at the sanitario público inside the bus station.

Cost of using the bathroom was $/0.50. That's $0.14 USD. Cash only. There are zero ATMs along the route we followed on the bus. I had no cash. Thought she might have the grace to permit me to pass. Nope. She said 'eres rico, hay que pagar'. Que generosa señora. Que la karma te pague lo que mereces. Felt good to actually throw that at her en español in the moment. Not sure how many gringos she encounters who can deal it right back to her. And yes, I know it is wise to carry cash everywhere, all the time. But when you're running long days back to back and paying out cash tips left, right, and center, sometimes you find yourself cashless and hopeful that your fellow human might show a bit of benevolence. Not in this woman's character apparently. (For the record, bought the ice cream in Pucará with a credit card.) Fortunately my situation wasn't urgent and in 20 minutes I'd be at our accommodations.

So, what's the verdict on the 11-hour touristic bus from Cusco to Puno? Eh, I guess it can work. Really don't love the 6:30 departure time, but not sure what the alternatives are. Wouldn't want to drive it. Can't really fly between Cusco and Puno. I think the best alternative is private car service with one or two stops. Probably Racqhi, Abra La Raya, and a meal. Not sure the Peruvian Sistine Chapel or Pucará are worth the stopping time.