How long does it take to get from Quito to Lima? and what trecks do people recommend?
My partner and I will be arriving in Quito on May 1st after spending 7 months in Central America and Columbia. The South American part of our trip is going to be rushed as we need to leave Santiago 1st August latest and hope to fit in vists to Peru (inc Machu Pichu), Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
We need to know the following; how quickly can we realistically get to Lima from Quito bearing in mind that we want to see stuff and experience the culture (and are there any suggestions of places we should go)?
and
what trecks/trails do people recommend in Peru. We were going to do the Inca Trail but I have also looked at the Lares treck which looks good (and seems to offer a more cultural experience) and hear there are other alternatives. We're torn between the Inca Trail (because its the Inca trail) and these other options which appear to also take you to Machu Pichu but may give a more authentic and less 'touristy' experience. Of course I may be wrong and they may all be equally touristy so please advise!!
Cheers,
Lauren
Reply to this In Huaraz the Santa Cruz trek is the most popular, you can hike it independently or with guides and the scenery is excellent. It's a good place to break the journey too if you're coming down from Ecuador.
In Cusco, Salkantay is a great trek, a good alternative to Inca trail, with a much quieter path than Inca trail. It's twice as long and there's one pass above 4600m. I'd recommend it, you'll meet lots of locals along the way as you'll be camping in farmhouses, lunching in local villages, etc.
I'd also recommend Choquequirao near Cusco. This trek ends at ruins similar to Machu Picchu, but much less touristy. You can only get here by hiking and much of the site remains unexcavated, so it has a much more undiscovered feel to it! A good choice if you want to avoid crowds.
I've blogs on all 3 treks if you want more details. Good luck!
Reply to this great thanks! i'll have a read! Have you done the Inca Trail as well? if so, how would you compare the ones in Cusco to that? we can only really afford to do one and want to make the right choice!
also - do you have any idea how long it takes to get from Quito to Cusco? and whether we would have to get a flight to Cusco from Lima or if its bus/trainable?
Cheers!
Reply to this no, we didn't do the inca trail so I can't compare with that one. we booked both our trails for 180 USD, a great price seeing as some people had paid up to 400 USD for the same trek. if you don't do the inca trail, then I suggest waiting till you arrive in Cusco to book a trek as you usually get a much better deal. obviously for the inca trail you need to book well in advance. I think you'll enjoy whichever trek you choose, as the landscape and scenery is great on all of them.
we travelled from cusco to quito in various stages by bus.
cusco - lima: 20 hours
lima - huaraz - 8 hours
huaraz - trujillo - 9 hours
trujillo - piura - 6 hrs
piura - loja: 9 hours
loja - quito is then about 10 hours I think, though we broke this one up too in vilcabamba, cuenca and banos.
The Cusco to Lima route is served by many bus compaines. It's worth paying a bit extra for one of the better compaines like Cruz del Sur (which we took) for both security and comfort.
Reply to this 
