Cusco Day Trip

Trip date: January 2019


On our last day in the Sacred Valley, we checked out of the Hotel Inti Nan in Urubamba and had a taxi driver take us to the Incan ruins of Sacsayhuaman. The ruins, which are also called Saksaywaman, are in the hills behind Cusco, and were the largest fortress ever built by the Incas.

The fortress sits at 11,864 feet altitude and offers great views down onto Cusco. But the real reason to explore here is to marvel at the giant boulders which were hoisted to build the 60 feet high walls! There are also herds of cute alpaca :)

When we finished we had him drop us off at the Hotel Plaza des Armas which sits right on the main square in Cusco. The hotel nicely stored our bags for the day and we headed upstairs to their cafe for a coffee.

Cusco is beautiful! And it's down at a mere 11,152 feet in elevation. ha! The city is bustling with business people, locals in traditional village costumes, and tourists. And it is very easy to walk around.

Our first stop was to Qorikancha. This Inca temple was built in approximately 1438 and contained the Temple of the Sun, the most important temple in the Inca religion.

After the Spanish conquered the Incas, they built the church of Santo Domingo right on top of the temple in approximately 1680. That is some F-U! It also makes for a very interesting site!

Unfortunately all the sacred gold items were taken by the Spanish and melted down. What a huge loss!

Besides the Incan ruins and the cathedral, the 2nd floor houses an art exhibit which is interesting to wander through.

From here we walked to the San Pedro market in the central district. We could tell we were getting close when we started passing women, many in traditional dress, selling all sorts of things. There were wheelbarrows of watermelon, dragon fruit & prickly pear, food carts with fresh juice, or boiled quail eggs, piles of fresh herbs (which are used by Shamen), and blocks of cheese.

Once inside the large open market, my senses were assaulted with delicious smells. I would have loved to sit down at one of the stands, crowded with locals having lunch. But we had other lunch plans so we wandered the aisles checking out the many unique offerings!

Each aisle had multiple stalls selling similar items. All the bread products were in one, rows and rows of potatoes and tubers down another, and tables piled high with grains and rice.

There were butchers, and fishmongers, and lots of stalls which we had no idea what it was they were selling! It's a great market to wander thru, just don't go hungry as we did!

We made our way back to the Plaza des Armas and found the restaurant Rucula which had been recommended by a friend of Forest's. It's a bit hard to find, up a tiny cobblestone side street, but serves both lunch and dinner and happens to be very vegetarian friendly.

I had their take on the traditional Peruvian dish causa, which is a cold, layered mashed potato dish usually with tuna or chicken. It was very good and very pretty. In fact everything in the restaurant is garnished heavily with flowers and herbs, including our pisco sours!

The others decided they wanted to finish the afternoon at the restaurant over some cold beverages, but I really wanted to check out the cathedral in the square. The church is the oldest in Cusco and has the most amazing gold alter I've ever seen!

In here there is a painting of The Last Supper  with a roast cuy (guinea pig) as the main course!

Photos are strictly prohibited in the church so I had to hide my phone under my guidebook and shoot blind while pretending to read. Someone finally caught me and I was sternly reprimanded!

I had to meet the others back at the hotel, as we were leaving for the airport, so I didn't have time to go into the other church on the square. I also couldn't find a postcard anywhere near the square! Now that's a first.

It was a great day spent in the former capital of the Inca Empire!

All photos of Cusco here.

Other posts from this trip:
24 Hours Miami
Lima City of Kings
Welcome to the Jungle
Piranhas and Pink Dolphins
Ringing in 2019 in the Amazon
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Discovering Machu Picchu
Dining at 11700 Feet
Return to Lima

Dining at 11,700 Feet

Trip date: January 2019

On our 3rd full day in the Sacred Valley we hired a private taxi driver for the day. After another great breakfast at Hotel Inti Nan (this time with the owner's wife making us homemade tamales for breakfast!) we made the short drive out to the Salinas de Maras to see the salt flats. Our driver stopped on the road above the flats so we could get an aerial view; they are unlike anything I've ever seen!

As there had been a lot of rain the day before so the ponds were colored with the runoff of the surrounding hills. Our driver explained that normally they are shades of brilliant white, which you can see here. 

Once inside, we were allowed to wander on paths around the ponds. There are about 5,000 ponds that are fed by a natural salty stream from the Andes mountains. The flats are at an elevation of 9,800 feet and have been in use since pre-Inca times. It was very cool to see the salt as the pond water evaporated. They looked like stalactites!

On the way out we were able to sample salt from the many families who harvest and sell it. I chose to buy from a father and daughter who also sold bath salts and chocolates. It is some of the most "salty" of the salts I have from around the world (I buy a lot of salt when I travel!)

Next we drove to the Inca ruins of Moray, which was the 3rd ruin we were able to use our pass for. The site is still a bit of a mystery, it contains no buildings, just circular terraces complete with an irrigation system. The terraces are dug down on this high plain, making it look like a giant crater.

We didn't have a lot of time so we skipped walking down into the site, as we had reservations for lunch at the newly opened MIL. Chef Virgilio Martinez, who owns Central in Lima, opened this restaurant on the same grounds as Moray. We just walked down a dirt road from the ruins to get there.

The restaurant is only open for lunch, and is at 11,700 feet altitude! We were led through the building and shown some of the experiments the restaurant is doing: working with chocolate & coffee beans, infusing plants (& fish!) in various alcohols, air drying meat & fruits, etc. It's all quite interesting!

We were seated in one of two dining rooms, with high ceilings and stone walls. It was explained to us that there wasn't any heat or air conditioning in the dining room and the temperature at this altitude can swing widely, so we were offered blankets made of the softest baby alpaca wool.

MIL only offers a set tasting menu which highlights Peruvian agriculture grown at different altitudes for $165USD. Forest and I chose the drink pairings, which consisted of some cocktails, beer, and wine for an additional $90USD.

The food was all really good; most of the dishes came in "pieces" and we were instructed on how to create the perfect bites. The courses had interesting names like Andean Forest, Diversity of Corn, and Extreme Altitude to reflect the dishes theme. And the service was really exceptional, not to mention the atmosphere.

I didn't think the beverage pairings were that great however. A few of the cocktails were quite nice, one was so highly alcoholic that both of us had a hard to drinking it (now that is really saying something!), and the others were just fine. But nothing felt like it really went with the dish it was paired with. I'd probably do a cocktail starter and then just choose wine if I did it again.

Also, as the altitude is so high , the staff offered to check our oxygen levels during the meal by coming around with a finger monitor. We were all fine but a gentleman in another party had to wear an oxygen mask for a bit!

The restaurant works with local farmers for the majority of their ingredients and even invites locals in to dine from time to time. It's a great community program and a very interesting idea. Forest wrote more about the restaurant and the program here.

We visited the shop after lunch where they have more displays of grains, potatoes, and corn that have been being grown since the Incas farmed here. I also bought one of those incredibly soft blankets!

On our walk back to Moray's parking lot to find our taxi, we passed crops of potatoes on one side of the road and the Moray ruins on the other. It's quite a unique experience and one I would highly recommend.

It's not often you start your day exploring Inca ruins, then have lunch in a modern, high-end and expensive restaurant next to one, and then drive home past Peruvians herding their flocks. Lots of extremes, not even including the altitude!

All photos from the Sacred Valley here.

Other posts from this trip:
24 Hours Miami
Lima City of Kings
Welcome to the Jungle
Piranhas and Pink Dolphins
Ringing in 2019 in the Amazon
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Discovering Machu Picchu
Cusco Daytrip
Return to Lima

Discovering Machu Picchu

Trip date: January 2019

Is there anything more exciting than standing in front of one of your bucket list sites? I have been to, and seen a lot of this fabulous world, but have very few things I'd consider on a bucket list; Machu Picchu is one of those few things.

Although most of Peru is very inexpensive, going to Machu Picchu is not. We started our day with an early morning taxi from our hotel to Ollantaytambo where we caught our Perurail train. The train goes from Urubamba station, where we were staying, but the cost was significantly more, and the schedule wasn't as good for us. Our trip out was $70USD and our return was $179USD. We had purchased our tickets to Machu Picchu months in advance ($70USD each) and had opted to spend the afternoon there (entrance rules have changed recently and you either purchase a 1/2 day morning or afternoon now).

The train ride to Aguas Calientes on the Vista Dome train is beautiful, but especially if you are sitting on the left side of the train (from the way the train is traveling), where you can see the river, mountains, small villages, and parts of the Inca Trail (the hiking trail for those making the pilgrimage by foot). Food/beverage service is extremely basic so we would have been smart to bring a snack. Luckily it was only about a 90 minute trip.

Aguas Calientes is only accessible by train and is the only way to Machu Picchu if you aren't hiking the Inca Trail. Most people choose to stay overnight here, but with nothing except souvenir shops and tourists restaurants, we decided to take the train back home that evening (and very happy with that choice as you'll read below).

Once in town there are two queues you need to get through. The first is for your bus ticket up the mountain. Everyone needs their passport to buy the bus ticket ($25USD round trip) and the line is actually up a side street, not the one pictured above. When we asked people in the main line if it was for the bus or the tickets most didn't know. I don't believe in standing in a line for no reason!

The 2nd queue is to board the bus for the drive up. It looks long but the buses come one-after-the-other so it moves quick. Optionally, there is a trail if you want to walk up from the town.

We had time before our afternoon entry so we grabbed a quick bite, and a pisco sour, at one of the tourist restaurants before boarding the bus. The ride up is a bit white knuckle, lots of switchbacks and sheer cliffs. And as we peered down onto Aguas Calientes, now just a spec below, we realized how high up we were too!

The entrance was easy and the trail well marked. There were a lot of people there but it didn't feel crushing. As we walked up the path though we again all felt the effects of the altitude. I popped some coca leaves in my mouth thanks to our hotel which provided them for free.

If you follow the Circuit 1 trail up and around to the left after you enter, you automatically start your visit with the famous view of the mountain and the ruins. Even with all the tourists taking photos, it is incredibly beautiful and awe inspiring. Here we were, standing at 7,970 feet elevation, peering out at a city built around 1450.

The city was then abandoned for unknown reasons approximately 80 years later and
remained empty until 1911 when explorer Hiram Bingham discovered it and had it excavated.

For almost 400 years, this city was hidden in plain site!

Not long after we arrived we noticed a large procession of people making their way up the trail. Some were dressed in the traditional brightly hued costumes of the village, but most were dressed in business attire, including women wearing high heels!

It was another parade celebrating the town's mayor like we had seen in Urubamba and Pisac! And they had all walked up from Aguas Calientes! Our timing was incredible!

There's a lot to learn about the Incas and Machu Picchu so most people choose to hire a guide, you can get one right at the entrance. We had heard very mixed reviews about the guides, and hadn't had the best luck when hiring in the past, so Thibault ended up buying a very good self-guided book in town while we waited for our bus.

The book was perfect for us! We followed the main route through the entire ruins with Thibault reading to us what each area was.

This entire city was built without iron tools or using wheels, and the stones were cut to fit together without the use of mortar.

There are about 150 buildings including homes, baths, guard houses, temples, and even this "Mirrors of Water" which allowed the Incas to view the stars reflecting in the small water pools.

The Incas also built about 600 terraces for agriculture. Those are some steep hills to farm on!

We spent about 3 hours exploring this wonder, it's incredibly beautiful as are the surrounding mountains. And then it started to rain. Like torrential buckets of rain! I was soaked through before I could even get my rain jacket out of my backpack.

Luckily we were near the end of the trail when this happened. We made a hasty retreat to the entrance only to find that there were no buses and the queue of people waiting for the ride down was long! The mayor and his entourage passed us on their walk back down the mountain! Peruvians are tough stock I'll say.

We stood in the pouring rain for about 30 minutes waiting for the buses to come up the hill. Everyone was completely soaked. When we got back to Aguas Calientes we had a couple of hours before our train left so we decided to warm up at a pizza place because it had a wood fire grill in the center of the dining room. We all stood around it like we were camping!

When we checked in for our train they told us we were the only passengers and led us to the platform. I thought we misunderstood and they meant we were the only passengers in that particular car. Nope. The 4 of us had a private train home to Urubamba!

Not only that, but our ticket included a 3-course meal with wine! We were definitely not dressed for this, but who was going to complain? haha!

They started us at the bar with a private demonstration on how to make a pisco sour. The bartender was great and gave us all a recipe card as well.

Besides the gorgeous dining room, the train also had a wood and glass observation room and a very elegant bar car. We drank our pisco sours in the observation room and then moved to the bar car for a martini. We were having an absolute ball!

Dinner and desert were fantastic as was our service. This was an awesome surprise to the end of an already awesome day!

We had a driver waiting for us when we pulled into the train station at about 10pm. It had been a very long, very amazing, and at ~ $350USD each, a very expensive day! And completely worth it!

Bucket list √


All photos from Machu Picchu here.

Other posts from this trip:
24 Hours Miami
Lima City of Kings
Welcome to the Jungle
Piranhas and Pink Dolphins
Ringing in 2019 in the Amazon
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Dining at 11700 Feet
Cusco Daytrip
Return to Lima

The Sacred Valley of the Incas

Trip date: January 2019

Jan 1, 2019 we left the Amazon and flew to Cusco via Lima. We were met at the airport by our driver who had been arranged thru our hotel in advance. Renting our own car was inadvisable, suggested my friends who live there, and as we rode 1 1/2 hours in the dark on very rough roads I was glad we had listened!

We had decided to stay in the town of Urubamba for 4 nights. This would give us a more central base to not just explore Machu Picchu but to hike around other Inca ruins (there are actually 16 others in the area) and also eat at the new restaurant MIL, just recently opened by Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez Véliz of Centrale in Lima.

We checked into the Hotel Inti Nan and were shown to our rooms by the hotel manager. When we inquired where we should have dinner that night he explained that most places would be stopping service soon, so he drove us in his truck to a place he knew served late. I think it was 8pm!

It had been a very long day involving a skiff, two seperate 1 1/2 drives on questionable roads, and 2 flights. We were all exhausted and turned in right after dinner!

The hotel provides a great breakfast buffet of yogurt, popped quinoa, fresh fruit, fresh bread, scrambled eggs, cheeses, meats, fresh juice, coffee, and tea. And they have a basket of coca leaves set out that you can help yourself too!

On our first full day in the Sacred Valley we had booked a private tour with Cusco Transport on the advise of a friend who used them the year before. They picked us up in the morning in a comfy mini van, offered each of us a bottle of water, and we were off for the day! First stop, the adorable town of Ollantaytambo and the incredible ruins there. We were able to buy a pass for all the area ruins for 130 Soles (not including Machu Picchu) and it was good for 10 days. More than what we needed but the other option was just a one-day and not as well priced.

At 9,160 ft altitude, it was the lowest of the ruins we visited, but as it was our first day out we all felt the effects of the lack of oxygen! Our guide kindly stopped every once in a while as we climbed up the terraces, to explain about the ruins and to let us catch our breath! And of course I had a handful of coca leaves in my pocket!

This important site included a village with farms and military posts as well as agricultural storage high up in the hill across the way. Our guide also pointed out where the massive boulders came from, across the river, 5km away. Incredible!

He also explained that the modern day village was built on top of the ancient village, with the current homes having Inca foundations! It was such a great introduction to the area, we were excited to see more!

From here we drove back through our town of Urubamba to get to Pisac, as there is only one main road that cuts through the valley. We had to pull over as we entered our town as there was a big parade going on with men on horses, a marching band, and lots of people on the sidelines cheering one particular gentleman who was being showered with flowers.

Turns out that the first days of January are when the new town mayors are welcomed into office. The brightly colored traditional costumes signal which villages people are from. It was really cool to stumble into the excitement!

We arrived in Pisac, which although was much more touristy than we had encountered so far, was still relatively quiet and very pretty. We made it to the town square and to the Pisac Inn where we had a very good lunch at their restaurant Cuchara de Palo. The only negative was that the credit card machines were down, as was the only ATM in the town, so we ended up having to pay with pretty much all the cash we had on us.

Pisac was also welcoming their mayor, and there was a stage set up in the square with lots of speeches being made, as well as a chicken lunch being handed out to everyone in town!

On the way to the town's well-know market, there was a woman dressed in traditional costume feeding her similarly costumed alpaca and baby sheep. She happily posed for photos as long as you dropped some coins in her basket.

After a quick shop through the market, where I bought a gorgeous baby alpaca wool sweater and some super cute gloves, we drove up to the Pisac ruins. Huge terraces reach down into the valley, with small stone villages nestled at the top. It was stunning!

Pisac was an agricultural, religious, and military village. Our guide pointed out hundreds of caves in the walls of the neighboring cliffs, hand dug graves for the ancient inhabitants. I'd never seen anything like it.

We were at 11,293 feet elevation now and it was really tough to climb and catch my breath. This is much higher than we would be at when we went to Machu Picchu! 

Both the sites we toured this day were spectacular! I'd highly suggest taking the time to visit. We were also all very happy with our guide, our driver, and our comfy mini van! I would absolutely recommend Cusco Transport if you are looking for a private guide.

They even stopped on the way home so we could get more cash and grab some groceries for happy hour, which we tried to enjoy outside at the hotel, but were chased off by the resident parrot!

That evening we hailed a couple of tuk tuks and had dinner at El Huacatay, recommended by our tour guide. It was a lovely little restaurant with primarily outside garden seating. All the food was good and I especially loved the Peruvian hot chocolate I ordered for dessert!

It had been a full day and we had another one the next as we'd be visiting Machu Picchu! We were all very excited and headed to bed early!


All photos from the Sacred Valley here.

Other posts from this trip:
24 Hours Miami
Lima City of Kings
Welcome to the Jungle
Piranhas and Pink Dolphins
Ringing in 2019 in the Amazon
Discovering Machu Picchu
Dining at 11700 Feet
Cusco Daytrip
Return to Lima