Ayacucho is a cute town built in a valley of the Peruvian mountains. It was our stopover for one night as we acclimatized to the elevation on our way to Cusco.
We didn’t get to explore too much of the city, sadly, because we spent most of the afternoon here napping, though what we did see left us with a good impression. Particularly the night life in Ayacucho was active, with plenty of bars and clubs, and crowds of young Peruvians walking everywhere.
Weather (Celcius)
Elevation (m)
Travel Planning: Ayacucho, Peru
Do
Mirador de Ayacucho
From wikitravel:
Between the central market and Santa Clara church, on Jr. Grau, take the No. 15 minibus (1 sol) to the village of Huascura at the top of Picota Mountain (the one with the big illuminated white cross), then ask for directions to the “Mirador de Ayacucho”, take the dirt road uphill from the bus stop about 20 min until you reach the white cross. The view is spectacular. You can walk back down (about 1-1.5 hr) by the stone staircase near the chapel. (You can also take a taxi up for s/8-10)
Shopping
- High quality wool and alpaca tapestries.
Sleep
Hostal Florida
- Jr Cusco 310, ☎ 312 565
- 50 soles/private
Get from Ayacucho to Andahuaylas by bus
To get there from Ayacucho take a bus (about 4hrs). Bus companies are located around each other: Expreso turismo los chankas: pasaje careces 150 or ave mariscal andres avelino caceres 921
Celtur: pasaje careces 174 and bloque Los artesanos sn
Bussing from Lima to Ayacucho
| Time | Location |
|---|---|
| 9:01PM | In a cab to the bus terminal. |
| 9:16PM | Arrived at the terminal. |
| 9:29PM | Checked our bags in and waiting in line. |
| 9:42PM | Boarded and waiting to leave. We’re in front row seats! |
| 9:46PM | And we’re off! |
| 10:50PM | We’re playing bingo! |
| 7:11AM | Descending into the city of Ayacucho! |
| 7:23AM | Arrived! |
| Totals | Totals |
|---|---|
| Total bus time | 9:25 |
Luna Azul
Stayed here for one night as we acclimatized to the elevation change. The rooms are clean and there’s plenty of hot water. We paid 40 soles for the night, but there are undoubtedly cheaper places in town.
Restaurant Marisa
We had seafood here for lunch. It was a bit pricey (about 4x the normal 6/7 sole lunch) and decently tasty, but not really worth the price.
Cafe Charly
Had a coca mate here to attempt to pick myself up from the effects of the altitude here. Didn’t make any noticeable improvement over the course of the day, though from what I understand I’d have to drink heaps of the stuff to get any effect.
Tuk-Tuks!
There are so many tuk-tuks here! Makes it feel like we’re in Asia rather than the mountains of Peru.
Chifa Chi-Jong
Had some good Chinese food here. The pineapple chicken was really tasty but the pollo rollado wasn’t as good. They were also playing action movies on TNT so we spent about an hour making up lines to movies we could see but not hear.
Bussing from Ayacucho to Andahuaylas
| Time | Location |
|---|---|
| 6:00AM | Woke up. |
| 6:31AM | Breakfast in bed! |
| 7:05AM | Grabbed a tuk-tuk to the bus station. |
| 7:17AM | Boarded. |
| 7:39AM | And we’re off. |
| 1:05PM | Arrived. |
| 1:25PM | Found a hostel. |
| Totals | Totals |
|---|---|
| Total bus time | 5:26 |
