The Sacred Valley of Cusco
Even though I started to feel the exhaustion from weekly air travel, I was ready to arrive in Peru in an area that I had heard so much about. By a happy accident, I didn’t realize how much the higher elevation in Bogota would help me acclimate fast to the higher altitude when I landed in Cusco. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I took the afternoon to head to the city center. The first stop was the main square with all the beautiful churches. Then I headed to Mirador the San Cristobal from where I could get a panoramic view of the entire city. On the way back down, I found out I can obtain a museum daily pass, so I added 5 more amazing museums to my spontaneous tour. I settled back in my hotel early as I knew the road to Sacred Valley would be long.
Not a lot of people realize how incredibly difficult it is to get to Machu Picchu on a personally organized route. I first hopped on a mini bus to get to Ollantaytambo. I am so glad I took an extra day here to visit the various archeological sites. The Sequieros Garden Hotel was the best pick for this area. After a two hour drive to the city, I hiked over to Pinkuylluna from where I can get a panoramic view of the village. I descended down before heading to the sacred site. Here I hired a local guide at the entrance who gave me an incredible overview of the Inca culture and the site. Back before heading to the hotel, I took a picture with some adorable locals dressed in their traditional colorful wardrobe. Tourist traps are everywhere. So I was happy to share some change with the young locals instead in exchange for some photos. That evening I took the Peru rail to Aguas Calientes where I slept over before making the early morning trip to Machu Pichu.
Once I arrived in Aguas, I found out that it’s best to purchase the bus tickets the night prior. The lines for the busses that go to the site start forming two hours ahead. So the following morning I woke up super early at 6 am to get in line. After a stressful bus ride to the top, I was frankly frustrated with all the hoops one has to go through to get to Machu. Up there, I hired another local guide and joined a group of other tourists. I had booked my entrance ticket months in advance and got Route 3. The most famous routes are 1 and 2, but I was happy with the route. Even though I didn’t have the entrance to hike the peak, I was ready to come down from the mountain to go enjoy the hot springs in Aguas Calientes with the locals. Overall, I would not recommend going to Machu Pichu and believe the Ministry of Tourism needs to make it easier and more accessible if they plan to continue tourism in this area. I heard this frustration being shared from many other tourists. In the evening I took the Inca Rail train back to Ollantaytambo and stayed an extra night there before heading back to Cusco the following day.
Frankly, the personalized Sacred Valley tour I organized with a local guide and an Uber driver was my favorite memory of this trip. Together we took an entire day to go to the Salt Mines, the Moray sacred site, the town of Minas, the clothing factory tour where I got to learn so much about the artistry of clothing making from the local Quechua women and finishing up in Chinchero.
I felt like I needed to squeeze out every moment for adventure in Cusco. So the following day I headed with another group to Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley. The road taking us there was incredibly picturesque but windy and adrenaline filled too. Since we arrived early in the morning, it was thrilling to take a motorcycle tour to the top of the mountain from where we hiked to the highest peak in snow. Because the rainbow mountain was cloudy and crowded, a part of our group decided to hike over to Red Valley. Even though the altitude of 5036 meters was getting to us, our group was left speechless when we reached the summit. A vast valley opened to us behind the clouds! We all just sat there for about 30 minutes, just marveling at the incredible beauty and force of nature. I forgot to mention the cute alpacas that were sitting at the top and mid way. Getting to pet these gentle creatures was truly a unique experience.
Because of all the daily moving from one city to another, getting hotels in the Cusco area is your best bet. I opted for a more quiet experience. So after staying at a rowdy Hotel Daylu for one night in Cusco, I opted for the Fenix Hotel in Machu Pichu and Casa Cruz Verde in the City center of Cusco. For a bit more money, the hospitality of the hosts and the proximity to the city center, while being in a garden secluded from the noise, truly made my experience memorable here. I left Cusco feeling grateful for the magic and incredible hospitality of the people in this sacred valley.
