Peru: Machu Picchu and The Sacred Valley

Peru is the first country I have traveled to in South America and it will definitely not be the last. Michael and I spent one week in Cusco and the surrounding area including the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Even though we were only there for one week, we were able to go on many adventures, taste some amazing food and connect with local people. We explored the ancient ruins of the Sacred Valley, Lake Humantay (the most beautiful lake I have ever seen), the ancient city of Machu Picchu and the former capital city of the Incas, Cusco. 

We traveled in December 2019, which we found to be a great time to travel to Peru. The rainy season is November through April, with the wettest weather starting in January. We were fortunate that in December it was not raining and was mostly in the mid 70s F. Generally it was less busy since it was the off season. We traveled from San Francisco to Cusco which took a very long time and we had a few delays along the way, but it was worth it. 

Day 1 

Cusco was our homebase our entire time in Peru. Our Airbnb was located just behind the temple of the sun called Qoricancha or Santo Domingo church which was in a great location to walk around the whole city. 

The first thing we did was take a quick nap to rest and acclimate to the elevation, about 12,000 feet. We then went on a free walking tour at 10:00 am with Inkan Milk Way Tours, which is a wonderful introduction to Cusco. In the span of 2.5-3 hours we learned about the culture and history of this charming city. We even went through San Pedro Market and learned about the local cuisine. While we were in San Pedro Market we bought some unique fruits, which included, pepino dulce, Chirimoya and Granadilla.  

After the free walking tour, we went back to our apartment to get ready for our Airbnb Experience, cooking class. The experience was amazing and started in San Pedro where we were introduced to a vast variety of local and ancient products. Michael and I were the only ones on the tour, which was great. After picking out some fruits for dinner we went back to the cooking studio located close to the market and made a wonderful meal including:

  • Passion fruit pisco sour, which is a typical mixed drink in Peru. It is a mix of pisco, simply syrup, egg white, bitters and usually lime, but we used passionfruit. Pisco is made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high proof spirit. 
  • Sashimi style fish marinated in ponzu with avocados and cushuros. 
  • Quinoa crusted alpaca with roasted potatoes and smoked chimichurri. 
  • Dessert: Exotic fruit parfait. 

It was a delicious dinner and we were stuffed afterwards so we went home and went to bed. 

Day 2 

We went on a tour of the Sacred Valley which is the region that forms the heart of the Inca Empire and stretches about 60 kilometers. The tour guide picked us up at our airbnb around 5 am and there was one other couple in our group. We drove about 1.5 hours to the town of Pisac and explored the ancient ruins. You need to buy a tourist ticket to visit the sacred valley sites and we were able to purchase our tourist ticket in Pisac which was good for the rest of the day. There are different versions of the ticket so research where you would like to visit beforehand and then buy the ticket that corresponds to your plans.  Pisac is a small traditional town best known for its large Sunday market and magnificent Inca Ruins overlooking the town from high on the mountain. We did not have time to visit the market but the ruins were amazing and has the Incan residential settlement and the largest Incan cemetery. 

After Pisac, we started driving to the next stop and along the way we stopped at a Chincheria to try chincha, the traditional ‘Inca Beer’ made from corn. We stopped in a woman’s home and got to watch her make chincha and then try it. It was a great experience to see how the local people live.

Then we started towards Ollantaytamo to see the impressive Inca Constructions. We hiked to the top of the fortress ruins and there was a beautiful view over the city. Ollantaytambo was a former Inca administrative center and gateway to the Antisuyo, Amazon corner of the Inca Empire. It is fascinating and unbelievable that the Incans were able to build such a structure with no machinery. 

After Ollantaytambo, we stopped for lunch on our way to the Maras salt mines. It is a very pretty drive  to Maras and interesting to see how the salt is harvested. Water, naturally salt- infused, flows down from the mountains and settles in the pans. As the water evaporates, salt remains and is extracted with simple tools. The only way to get a plot is by having a family member pass it on to you. 

After Maras, we went to the archeological site of Moray. This was my favorite location made up of large incan terraces that look like a roman amphitheater with grass. It is believed that the ruins steps were once an agricultural laboratory used by the Incans. After the long day we drove home back to Cusco. 

When we got back we went to dinner at Green Point which is a vegan restaurant that I highly recommend trying even if you aren’t vegan. We both ordered pisco sours (passionfruit and raspberry) and split a salad, samosas and the vegan burger which all were delicious. The atmosphere is amazing and it feels like you are outside in a forest while you are eating. I highly recommend trying this place. 

Day 3

Since we were starting our Machu Picchu hike the next day we went to the office of the tour company, Alpaca Expeditions, to check in and get the details of the trip. After checking in we had the rest of the day to explore Cusco. 

We hiked to the top of the hill to the Cristo Blanco Jesus Statue. It was a very steep hike up stairs and the high elevation did not help. Once we got to the top it was totally worth it because the views over the city were amazing.  If you don’t want to hike, you can take a bus. 

On the walk down we stopped at a cafe, Restobar, that overlooks the city and had some coffee on the balcony. I would definitely recommend going here for drinks or food. They also have a very good happy hour menu but we didn’t try it since we were there in the morning. 

After hiking back down, we went to the San Pedro Market to do some souvenir shopping. Shopping in Cusco was very inexpensive so we bought coffee, chocolate and some pottery to bring home. 

After the market we wanted to try a local brewery so we went to Cholo. They are located off a courtyard of a building which is very beautiful. There is a nice lawn in front of the brewery where they have music in the evenings. We both tried the IPA called Sexy Woman which was tasty. 

After the Brewery we went shopping for some alpaca blankets and sweaters in the San Blas neighborhood. You can buy “alpaca” sweaters in San Pedro market but we were told that those were not real. The shops in San Blas have very nice blankets and sweaters and you could tell they were real. We purchased a couple sweaters and two nice blankets. 

We went to dinner at Morena Peruvian Kitchen which was very tasty and had a great environment. Michael tried the lomo saltado and I had the Sacred Valley salad. It was very good and I would recommend going there. 

Day 4

Our journey to Machu Picchu started with a 4 am pick up at our Airbnb. We took a van about an hour and a half to Ollantaytambo where we caught a train towards Machu Picchu. The train ride is absolutely gorgeous through the mountains and forest.

The train stopped in the middle of the forest and we were told this was where the hike started, so we got out. Right after getting off the train we met up with our tour guide and crossed over a rope bridge over a raging river to start the hike. Our tour guide’s name was Angel and he was great! Michael and I were the only ones on the hike and he kept calling us super hikers because we wanted to keep moving.

The hike was absolutely beautiful and we hiked through the jungle and then on the side of the mountain. It was overcast which was nice since the hike was somewhat difficult. The beginning was a gradual incline with some parts that were very steep. The thing that made it difficult was the higher elevation. The first stop was at Winay Wayna which is an old incan site with an elaborate water fountain, temples and some agricultural terraces. THe backdrop of this site drops off a cliff with beautiful mountains surrounding the area. 

We then had lunch at the campsite where the other hikers would be sleeping for the night. The porters carried up all of the cooking supplies and tents which makes me respect them so much. They quickly hike up with about 60 pounds of extra supplies. For lunch we had chicken, rice, potatoes, broccoli, guacamole and asparagus soup. 

After lunch we continued on to The Sun Gate (Inti Punku) with an amazing view over Machu Picchu. We got there at about 3:30 in the afternoon and the view to Machu Picchu was very clear and not very crowded since most of the tourists had left for the day.

We then walked down towards Machu Picchu and took a few more pictures but did not go into the site since we were going in the next day. We took the bus down to Aguas Calientes which is about 30 minutes and winds back and forth along the cliff. I will say it was a little scary since you are right on the side of the cliff and the buses go pretty fast.

When we got to the bottom we walked up the hill to our hotel and checked in. We took a warm shower and nap before dinner. We met our guide at India Feliz for dinner which was included in our tour package. The dinner was good but they gave you sooooo much food. They have a set price and you pick an appetizer, main and dessert. We were so tired though so all we wanted to do was finish dinner and sleep. 

Day 5

The next morning we woke up and met our tour guide for breakfast at 5:30 am to take the bus up to Machu Picchu. It was lightly raining and cloudy when we got to the top but this is normal during the morning hours and clears up by 8:30 am. We started our tour at 6:30 am and walked all around Machu Picchu through the ruins. We learned about Incan culture, sacred places and agriculture.

We decided we would do the additional hike up to the top of Machu Picchu mountain. At this point our tour guide left us and we were on our own for the rest of the day. The hike up Machu Picchu mountain was extremely difficult and was straight up stairs the whole time with no rest. There were also parts of the hike where you were on the side of a cliff with about a 2 foot trail. It took us about 1 ¼ hours round trip and you climb 2000 feet in elevation.  You can also hike up Huayna Picchu which is not as tall, but a bit more treacherous. It was a hard hike but once you got to the top, there were absolutely gorgeous views over Machu Picchu. The hike down is hard since there are so many stairs and your legs are already tired. 

After the hike we took the bus back to Aguas Calientes and went to a restaurant, Atmapis Garden, and split a pizza before getting on the train. The train ride back was about 3 hours and then we had a driver pick us up to bring us back to our airbnb. It was a very long day and we were very tired but it was worth it. 

Day 6

The next morning we had a 4:30 am pick up at our Airbnb for a tour to Humantay Lake,  with Willka Travel.

We were picked up and drove to Soraypampa to start the trek to Lake Humantay. It was a very pretty drive but we were on the side of a cliff and I was nervous almost the whole way. Driving in Peru is always on the side of cliffs. Our tour group was the first tour group there for the day, which was great because we had the location to ourselves in the beginning. The hike up was very difficult even though it was not very long. We were at an elevation of about 14,000 feet so it was very difficult to breath and the hike was straight up the side of the mountain. If it is too difficult there is an option to rent a horse to take you up the mountain. No one in our tour group took a horse so I am not sure how much it costs. 

At the top the views are totally worth it. The lake is a piercing blue from the minerals in the water and the mountains behind it is covered in snow. After hanging out at the top and taking some pictures we headed down and back to our van.

 

Day 7

The next day our flight was at 8:35 am so we checked out early to get to our plane. The journey home did not take as long as the journey there but it was still a 3 leg trip. We packed everyday with so many adventures so I feel like we experienced a month’s worth of activities in a week. Once we got home we were exhausted from our packed schedule, but I would not have done it any differently. 

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