bus between Lima and Cusco

• How about bus between Lima and Cusco

Cruz del sur and Ormeno are the best choice here. Both of them have high quality buses in their fleet.

Cruz Del Sur - Imperial and Cruzero bus

• Cruz Del Sur

Probably the best bus service in Peru. They three services cruzero, imperial and ideal. Cruzero is a two level bus, and very very comfortable one. It is a 2 levels Bus. Here in first Level they have VIP Salon or sofa-bed seats and in second level bus bed seats. You can buy your ticket from and to any locations from their website now. If you plan to move by bus then you can save some money here, Lima -Cusco ticket is only US $45.00, even if you travel by Cruzero service.

• Ormeno

Ormeno has three services, Royal, business and economy. Royal has cama (bed) or semi cama (semi bed) service. Ormeno also is a good company. Only problem is that sometime they are not in time. Here Lima -Cusco ticket will cost you US $ 37.00.

Train Transport to Machu Picchu

Train Transport to Machu Picchu

Ok, so you are the comfortable type and rather not trek the strenuous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. What's the point in all that fatigue, anyway, if you can take the train, right?

Photo © Orient Express

Well, rail transport to Machu Picchuis indeed a good alternative for the trekking-adverse: not better nor worse, just different. Still charming and attractive, yet much more comfortable.

Train transport to Machu Picchu is managed by Peru Rail, a company of the Orient Express group (which also runs the exclusive Monasterio Hotel in Cusco and Miraflores Park Plaza hotel in Lima).

The spectacular journey begins at Cusco with a series of switchbacks, or zig-zags, as they are know locally, that last for half-hour: the trains ascends the Picchu mountain, up to the city's highest point (El Arco or The Arch) and out of Cusco into the village of Poroy.

The train then descends into the Sacred Valley and the foothills of the Andes, along the Urubamba River, passing through a beautiful landscape packed with typical Andean crops and grasslands, herds of llamas, and colourful villages.

Rail transportation to Machu Picchu features two basic route alternatives and three carriage qualities.

In alternative to the Cusco departures, you can choose to take the train at Ollaytantambo or Urubamba, in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Regarding carriage qualities, You can choose among the plain Backpacker train, the more upscale VistaDome train, or the luxurious Hiram Bigham train(which departs from the village of Poroy, some 20 minutes from Cusco's city centre).

puno

Introduction to Puno

Ice-cream vendor on Titicaca's waterfront. Photo Santi LLobet, CC License.

For some 400 years, Puno was the territory of the Tiahuanaco people, a pre-Columbian culture that occupied vast extents of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile. Known for their monumental architecture –characterized by large stones of exceptional workmanship– and their ceramics, Tiahuanaco fell to the Inca Empire in the 15th century. The actual city dates back to 1668. Spanish viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro founded it following the discovery of rich silver mines in the surroundings.

The truth is, current-day Puno is an unpretentious city in many aspects. Largely unsound and with few city-within attractions, it's located on the stark Andean highlands of southern Peru, amid frosted plateaus populated by llamas and alpacas. It though bosoms the profound blue waters of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake at 3,860 m.a.s.l. (12,421 feet), a beautiful and magical extension of mirror-like blue waters.

Moreover, Puno has always been a melting pot of Aymaras and Quechuas, the two largest Andean ethnic groups. It hoards a rich artistic and cultural wealth, particularly regarding traditional dance, ad is accordingly considered the folkloric capital of Peru.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Choisir la variante 3 jours de marche (depuis km 88)

The Inca Trail is Peru's most popular trekking route, running for more than 40km and reaching 4,200 m.a.s.l. at its highest point, the Warmiwañuska or Dead Woman's Pass. The stone-paved trail, discovered in 1960, crosses through an impressive range of natural landscapes and eco-systems, from thick tropical jungle to the bear, unwelcoming rocks of the Andean mountains. All in all it's probably the most beautiful walk in South America. Photo Courtesy: PromPerú The Trail takes three to four days of tough hiking, and can be commenced at Chillca (Kilometre 76 of the Cusco-Machu Picchu railway) or, most frequently, at Qorihuayrachina, Kilometre 88 of the railway. The first day is relatively easy, and includes along the route the Inca ruins of Cusichaca, Q'ente, Pulpituyoc, and Llaqtapata, a site used for crop production remained well preserved. From the Cusichaca bridge, the Trail follows an undulating path across bare slopes and through eucalyptus forests. After a 4-hour walk, the trail reaches the village of Wayllabamba. The second day is the hardest of all. The ascent from Wayllabamba becomes increasingly steep, as the trail follows original Inca stonework that climbs uphill, ending just short of the actual Warmiwañuska or Dead Woman's pass, at 4,200 m.a.s.l. The crossing of the Dead Woman's pass opens day three, after camping in the Pacaymayo valley. The Trail descends into the valley beyond and heads to a second, lower, pass to the restored site of Runkuraqay, a small Inca watch post. After the second pass is the site of Sayaqmarka, perched atop a sheer cliff. From here one can see the start of the massive Amazon rainforest, stretching to Brazil. After Sayaqmarka the Trail continues through thick cloud forest and jungle, filled with tropical flowers and colourful orchids. Reaching a third and final pass at Phuyupatmarka, one gets a first glimpse of Machu Picchu mountain, roughly 13 km away. The final day is another easy day, mostly descending into the valleys and passing through more colourful jungle and cloud forest before reaching Machu Picchu through the Inti Punku or Gateway of the Sun. Although Machu Picchu is the highlight of the Inca Trail, it is not the only thing of note. Numerous other Inca sites, stunning views, wildlife and colourful flora fill the whole Trail. During the high season, from June to August, you should book well in advance -at least 3 months-, as the number of trek permits issued is limited to 500 per day (including tour guides and porters). Probably the best period for the Trial is between May and October, when the weather is driest. Usually, the climate is Rainy during summer (in the Southern Hemisphere, from December to March). Sunny from May-September. Maximum temperatures reach 27° C, but rarely drop below 11° C. The Inca Trail is part of the more than 23,000 km of roads built by the Incas across South America. It features some tough hiking, including several hours above 3,500 m.a.s.l. (the Trail's highest point stands at 4,200 m.a.s.l.), so you should spend at least 48 hours in Cusco acclimatising before the ascend. Otherwise, Acute Mountain sickness (altitude sickness) could make your first few days pretty uncomfortable. The forests abound in hundreds of species of orchids, brightly-colored birds and dream-like landscapes, the ideal complement to this indispensable hikers' route.

Gideon Levy / Let's face the facts, Israel is a semi-theocracy

By Gideon Levy

The storm over remarks made by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman is in many respects a tempest in a teapot, which has for a long time taken on holier aspects than it seems. Neeman wants Torah law, or in other words, he wants Israel to be a country governed by Jewish religious law, halakha. In any event, Israel is already a semi-theocracy. The Israelis who were frightened by the minister's remarks and who love viewing their country as liberal, Western and secular are forgetting that our life here is more religious, traditional and halakhic than we are prepared to admit. Between Stockholm and Tehran, Israel of 2009 is much closer to Tehran. From birth to death, from circumcision to funeral, from the establishment of the state to the establishment of the last of the illegal outposts in the West Bank - we are operating in the shadow of the commandments of religion. We should be honest with ourselves and admit it already: The country is too religious. Neeman just wanted to take this one step further, something one can and must come out against; but the religious-nationalist campaign began a long time ago, and it is still going strong. It begins, of course, with the fact of our presence here. Among other things, it is based on theological reasoning. Abraham the Patriarch was here, so we are, too. He bought the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, so we, too, are in Palestinian Hebron. People who are entirely secular also cite religious and biblical explanations for the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. We can't even say whether Judaism is a religion or a nationality - and in any event, there is no other country in the Western world where religion has its holy iron grip on the state as it does in Israel. Advertisement We don't need Neeman. There are no civil marriages or divorces, and there are almost no secular funerals. The Law of Return and the definition of who is a Jew - the most fundamental and significant of Israeli precepts - are based on halakha, even without our religious justice minister. Only 44 percent of Israelis define themselves as secular, as opposed to 64 percent of Swedes who define themselves as atheists; and this is reflected in all aspects of our daily life. A mezuzah on the doorpost of almost every home, and the pagan custom at almost every one of those houses of kissing it. Eighty-five percent of Israelis hold a Passover seder, fervently recalling the plagues - pestilence, boils, death of the first-born. Sixty-seven percent fast on Yom Kippur, which in Western eyes is the strangest of days. The absence of bus or train service on Shabbat, the observance of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) in every public institution, and Sabbath elevators in every hotel and hospital - these too are not exactly the vision of a secular state. A bar-mitzvah for almost every boy, matza in nearly every home on Passover, and the kiddush blessings. Torah sages of various kinds make decisions on fateful political issues - at the homes of miracle workers, magicians and those passing out amulets - and the lines outside their doors are growing, made up mostly of those who argue they are fervently secular. They are lying to themselves and to others. Expressions of racism and arrogance, too, based on the concept of the "chosen people," are uttered. And between you and me, who doesn't believe this (a little)? You don't need the newly religious and the newly secular. A large portion of secular people are "traditional," which means religious, but just a little. In the Bible study of our youth, we put on skullcaps. When, God forbid, the Bible fell on the floor, we would kiss it, with great reverence - secular people like us, as it were. And what happened during morning roll call? The quotation of the day from the Bible. None of us had ever heard of the New Testament, and no one would have dared teach it as part of the education we are trying to glorify. We were also afraid to even enter a church. The Western Wall is holy to everyone - who has not placed a note with a wish in its crevices? Most Israelis' reasoning for the continued occupation of "holy" East Jerusalem is also based on religious faith. It is not only the "hilltop youth" of the West Bank settlements who revere every stone. Not only Gush Emunim, the bloc of the faithful, believes in the baseless connection between sanctity and sovereignty. Most of us believe it. Admit it. Let's admit that we live in a country with many religious and halakhic attributes. Let's remove the concocted secularist guise with which we have wrapped ourselves. Shocked by Neeman's remarks? They are not so far removed from the reality of our lives. Israel is not what you thought. It's definitely not what we try to present to ourselves and the rest of the world.