By bus from mendoza to cusco? Stop in san pedro de atacama?

Hola! Im currently in Mendoza, Argentina. Im going to do the Inca Trail on march 28, which means I have to be in Cusco on the 26, the latest. Im travelling by bus and have some questions. Does anyone know how long time it woul take me to get to Cucso from Mendoza? And also Im thinking about going to San Pedro De Atacama in Chile for maybe 2, 3 days first. Is this realistic, timewise? Anyone know for how long it would take from Mendoza to San Pedro? And then again fra San pedro to Cusco? And if anyone have any general tips about this stretch, it would be much appreciated!

Katrine

I did Arequipa in Peru to Mendoza in 1 go and it's not recommended. Mendoza to Santiago is easy enough, 8 hours or so. I went between Arica in the far north of Chile and that was 30hours or something from Santiago so if you break in San Pedro you've still go a fair amount to go afterwards. From Arica you can get a collectivo that will take you over the border to the depot in Tacna and from there you will be able to get a bus straight to Cusco. My journey took best part of 3 days and 2 nights including waiting for connections and your will probably take the same so plenty of time for a break in San Pedro. Hope this helps, Ed