Don’t Skip: Ollantaytambo, Peru
Intro to Ollantaytambo The town of Ollantaytambo lies at the intersection of three valleys, at the western end of the Sacred Valley region in Peru. Traditionally, it was a place to rest and restock on the way through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu. Remains of temples show religious significance as well. During the 1400s […]
Moray and Chinchero
Concentric Circle Ruins at Moray The concentric circles at Moray were different from anything we´d seen so far. The most widely-accepted theory is that these terraced circles were used as an agricultural laboratory, to experiment with what crops (wheat, quinoa, other grains, potatoes, etc.) would grow best at different temperatures and under different conditions. It has […]
Tambomachay to Saqsaywaman
While Cuzco is an amazing city to explore, there’s so much more to see once you get out of town. Surrounded by the Andes, Cuzco was the heart of the Inca Empire. Even before the arrival of the Inca, the Killke culture dominated this region from about 900-1200 AD. There are countless ruins in the […]
Machu Picchu
The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu Pueblo) was like entering the jungle. Everything got more and more lush, green and wet. There was less agriculture, and more wild. Aguas Calientes itself (named for thermal springs on the edge of town) was another kind of jungle, the tourist kind. Obviously this […]
Ollantaytambo
The Road to Ollantaytambo Having left Pisac late in the afternoon after a LONG walk up and through the ruins, we were pretty tired by the time we changed buses in the transportation crossroads of Urubamba. From Urubamba we jumped in a colectivo (usually a minivan or van, smaller and a little more expensive than the bus but considerably faster). […]
Pisac: Gateway to the Sacred Valley
To travel to Pisac from Cusco is about an hour by local bus, 2.40 soles about 70 cents US. We sat next to two women who were having a conversation in Quechua and trading goods. One had bread and the other bananas and they seem to have made an agreeable and tasty trade. So far […]
Cuzco: Heart of the Inca Empire
Cuzco History Heart of the ancient Inca empire, Cuzco is located in the heart of the Andes at about 11,000 feet. We’d recently been in Puno, and this was a bit lower. We were glad to have arrived by land, since it gave us the chance to adjust to the altitude. There are a number […]
The Road to Cuzco
San Luis bus company was only 45 minutes late getting started. We left Puno and started climbing. The beginning of the route took us through a number of small, mountain towns. We stopped a few times to let passengers on and off, a perfect time to buy some choclo (giant corn) or a bag […]
Taquile
Our next stop was the island of Taquile. It was a rainy, steep climb, but we were rewarded with views to Bolivia from the main square. We spent some time looking around, and saw a photo exhibition of pictures taken by local residents that was amazing. We learned about the local dress, similar but markedly […]
Exploring Amantani Island, Peru
Amantani Island Amantani Island is in the big part of Lake Titicaca, about three hours by boat from Puno. We organized our trip with a local operator recommended by our hotel, and set out early. After a stop and a look around the Uros Islands, we motored on toward Amantani Island. The first thing we […]