Unlike my usual posts, this one is going to be dedicated to mostly photos with the occasional fun story popped in there! While the Sacred Valley (basically everything around Cusco) was properly stunning, it was basically one of the most touristy places I've been on my travels and thus it didn't have that same feeling of ~figuring it out on your own~
And so in that respect, if you're just starting your travels, or your solo travels, this could be a wonderful place to start! There are dozens of tours leaving from Cusco that last all day, with food and transport included, and they start at $15- $20 FOR THE WHOLE DAY because there is so much demand. There are options for every budget- Machu Picchu is notoriously the most expensive trip and we did it about as cheaply as possible-- which still came out to around $120 with all the transport and tickets-- but you can also do the Inca Trail for $500 + dollars, or you can trek on your own, etc etc.
After one day of acclimitazation in Cusco, we decided to hit the first Incan Ruin of Pisac, which in hindsight, was my top "hidden" gem in the area! The ruins were relatively empty considering how easy it was to arrive (just a $2 colectivo from Cusco, lasting 45 minutes) and the town was absolutely stunning with the ruins as a backdrop. Of all the Incan ruins you can visit for ~$17 with the 2-day boleto turistico, this was probably the one that most resembles Machu Picchu with cool constructions and buildings resembling old homes. We got blessed by the perfect amount of rain and sunshine, giving way to the most picturesque rainbow. Afterward, Bianca ate alpaca (zero cholesterol!), we bought some fun goodies at the market, (which is best on Sundays), and enjoyed the journey back to Cusco with a sunset/rainbow combination.
Look at the avo toast and capuccino we got at La Placita cafe - 10/10/10 recommend!
The next day in our busy itinerary, we wanted to eventually arrive to stay overnight at Ollantaytambo and I had plans of DIY-ing the route, however, it's literally nearly impossible on your own and the tours (split with a friend!) are extremely affordable. We ended up hiring a private taxi for the day with the awesomest guide, Ricardo, and he gave us our personal tour from Cusco to Chinchero to Maras to Moray to Ollantaymbo. Like, if you can't tell I would never take a private taxi, but that's just how affordable and tourism-oriented it is around here.
The first stop was Chinchero, where our taxi driver dropped us off at this touristic traditional Peruvian "home"
The first stop was Chinchero, where our taxi driver dropped us off at this touristic traditional Peruvian "home.” It was super educational and very cultural but ultimately it was there to get our money, so after some beautiful demonstrations of how they clean, dye, and weave alpaca wool with natural pigments, we did buy a few souvenirs to thank them. We also saw a bunch of guinea pigs - “cuy” is the traditional dish- and alpacas and llamas! Afterwards, we wandered an hour through the actual ruins of Chinchero. There were some beautiful steppe like structures that somewhat resembled Pisac from the day prior. If you go here, make sure to walk down and around to find some peace and quiet. It’s hard to escape all the tourists in the Sacred Valley but it’s so worth it to enjoy the flora and fauna on your own and appreciate the magic of the place.
Maras salt pools, the altiplano + some colorful quinoa, and Moray
Back in the private taxi, we then made a quick stop through the salineras of Maras (an extra $2.00 entry since its not included in the boleto turistico.) There are hundreds of pinkish-brown salt pools where families make their living by harvesting this pink salt. Our guide claims is the best pink salt outside of the Himalayas! We bought some yummy salty chocolates to bring home, but I’m sorry to say that all those chocolates were devoured and none of you will be getting chocolates as promised.
To arrive at the next destination we had the most beautiful drive through the altiplano, full of green green grass, blue skies donkeys and colorful quinoa! Something about how the journey is more enjoyable than the destination— in this case, it certainly was. The views from this drive made me more grateful that we arrived at the tail end of the rainy season, so that we didn’t get rained out but got to enjoy the luscious green vegetation all around us.
We made another stop at Moray, these beautiful concentric circles once believed to be some kind of agricultural lab for ancient Peruvians. To be honest, they look alien like and the history seems pretty alien and incomplete as well— nonetheless, it was a fun little stopover and again included in the boleto turistico!
Look at how magestic that cow is, just vibing in the Sacred Valley FR
Finally we touched down in the town Ollantaytambo at about 3:30 PM, but the ruins were set to close by 5PM so we quickly checked into our hotel, grabbed a revitalization cafe con helado, and literally ran around the ruins for half an hour. This town is super stunning, literally just nestled into a mountain and surrounded by ruins on all sides. On none of these stops did we have a proper guide, so we just listened into other tour groups for the occasional fun fact— here, it was that there is a face in the mountain! Just google it and you can easily spot it, haha
Ollantaytambo is super duper touristic as the closest town to Machu Picchu accessible by car. It’s also where the roundtrip train to Machu Picchu leaves from, so everyone is basically either coming or going from the Wonder of the World. There are nice deals for a simple dinner and we didn’t spend too much time in the town, though there seemed to be some fun coffee and vegan cafes, as well as a colorful little market. The following day, we ended up taking a colectivo from Ollantaytambo to Cusco for just 10 soles ($2.50) for a 2 hour ride, if you end up in the same boat!
The next day we were up bright and early for ~machu freaking picchu ~ at long last, the real reason that most travelers add Cusco and surroundings to their itinerary. The ancient Incan fortress dates back to the 1600s and there is still speculation of its exact purpose, though people think it was an escape for royalty. Incans actually only refer to people with royal blood— the remaining people that belonged to the pueblo and Cusco during the time period are not truly Incan! More than the actual structures that remain, the impressive part of Machu Picchu is the stunning location. You feel like you’re in a movie— whether it’s because the spot is so recognizable or because it is so truly mystical, perched at the top of this valley, with the stunning Huayna Picchu rock towering in front of you.
Since the start of the pandemic and with increasing tourism, Machu Picchu is obviously an extremely fragile destination so there are now four types of tickets for entry which take you on a slightly different guided path through the ruins. Since we wanted to summit the biggest rock/viewpoint “Huayna Picchu,” we entered with Circuit 4 which had a timed entry to the general ruins and to the base of the mountain. I will warn you that Circuit 4 misses the MOST iconic Machu Picchu photo spot, but the circuit on your ticket isn’t THAT heavily enforced and if you can sneak by, you can probably see it all (not that I’m encouraging that, I believe they have these new rules for a reason/ for preservation to avoid overtourism hehe)
Anyways, I mentioned earlier but visiting Machu Picchu ain’t cheap! Because it’s one of the 7 New Wonders of the World, Peru has capitalized on their profits by requiring you to buy an entry ticket at $30-50 (students get in cheaper!), a roundtrip train ticket to the town of Aguas Calientes (~$50), and a roundtrip bus ticket from Aguas Calientes up to the ruins ($24). This is ABOUT as cheap as you can reasonably do it, although some online blogs claim you can get that cost down to just $19 though it involves SEVERAL hours of walking which will be logistically difficult given the ruins are only open during daylight hours. Of course, you can also arrive on a trek, with Salkantay being the most popular 3 night/4day route among backpackers. If you book this online, it seems to run at least $300 per person, but if you wait till you get to Cusco I definitely saw packages from $150-160, but keep in mind the price probably reflects what you get! The infamous Inca Trail is the most expensive way to arrive— I believe you can’t even do it without a guide— so if you got the $$ for that feel free to ball out. I’m sure the views are epic.
So Machu Picchu was sick! I started off really frustrated because we bought the timed ticket for 8-9 AM entry and arrived at like 9AM sharp… I’m not saying anything that bad would have happened, but it sucked just waiting for the line and the bus and hoping we would make it. Likewise, we had entry to the mountain from 9-10 AM, so we kinda just went through the ruins in our circuit pretty quickly, though it didn’t take much time without a guide. Stopped to take some photos, then within 30 minutes of enjoying we were starting up the mountain. There is also a much smaller mountain which you can summit on a different entry ticket, but if you are at all adventurous/ hiker type, I would definitely get the Huayna Picchu ticket so that you can enjoy this tourist destination in a more complete way.
The hike up can be pretty intense, considering you are at altitude and there are lots of steps with ropes and wet rock. There’s no rush to get to the top, but we went fast anyways just to try to avoid the crowds at the top of every hour. It’s a busy trail but only like 300 or so people get tickets for it every morning, so at least it’s not as busy as the ruins below. I think it took us about 35 minutes to get to the top, and at the top we just sat back and enjoyed. The clouds came and went over Macchu Pichu down below, unfortunately we didn’t get any rainbows this time!! But we did stay up there for about an hour until the clouds came for good and it started raining. A raincoat is a definite must for Machu Picchu, as it proceeded raining the whole way down the mountain, down the bus, and basically the rest of the day! By the time we were back to the base of the mountain at the town of Aguas Calientes, we found a really decently priced lunch spot and waited until our train back to Ollantaytambo. Did I mention it’s like one of the most beautiful train rides you’ll ever take? It feels like a ride in Disneyland hehe.
plushy elephant baby always makes the shot :)
All in all, Machu Picchu was incredible because of the hype and anticipation and because of its location above the clouds— I wouldn’t say I learned that much about the ruins themselves, but it was more about the journey and the experience of arriving somewhere that is so iconic to so many people! Thinking about how many friends and family have also been at this place over the years is pretty crazy, and I’m happy that I visited in 2022 because who knows how overtourism is going to change this place in the coming years— it already is! And with that, I checked off basically the top my bucket list, time to dream up somewhere new :,)
