Rest. Centenario De Machu Picchu

This place was recommended to us by Exotica tour guide. Great scenery by the windows overlooking river below. There was a great buffet and most of our tour took advantage of it. We were a bit cautious of a heavy meal before making the trek to ruins. We had been cautioned to eat lightly due to elevation. So while many stuffed themselves with a nice spread, I talked my daughter into trying the Cui, on the menu here. We were happily surprised when it came without the head. We both tried it. My daughter favored the skin, which was like fried chicken, very good. The meat of the guinea pig was ok but very, very greasy - three napkins worth. We also had ice creams, which was great after the Cui. And the waitress told us where in the Pueblo we could go and get our passports stamped. Peru does not stamp passports. We also visited some shops and walked around, but the streets only go in two directions - up and down, very little flat areas.

We booked our tourism package for Peru through a company called “Amantra.” Amantra set us up for a buffet lunch in Aguas Calientes on our way to Machu Picchu. We got to sit next to this panoramic view of the hot spring town. Our package included all of the food that was brought out. Our favorite appetizer was the “tiradito de trucha” or thinly-cut slices of trout in a spicy sauce garnished with Peruvian corn nuts. We received a sampling of local dishes, including stir-fried cuy and strips of hen in a huancaína yellow sauce. Drinks were not included in our package, but they were very affordable and refreshing. I got a piña colada and my wife got a mojito sour, putting a local twist on the classic mojito drink using pisco sour.

Our tour included a buffet lunch in this restaurant. I quite enjoyed the variety of salads they had, particularly the one with beans and corn, and their fish tiradito with avocado. Their hot food station was okay (rice, pasta, chicken). It was interesting to sit by the river but it was quite loud. We did see other diners with a la carte dishes and they looked quite good.