Tag: ruins

Visiting the Sacred Valley

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The Sacred Valley is the location of a fascinating world that you would not come across in everyday life. It is a lush green wonderland of treks, villages, ruins, agriculture, mountains and beautiful landscape in the interior region of Peru. The ruins of Machu Picchu are in the sacred valley but there is much more to do and see here and if you left your sightseeing to just Machu Picchu you would regret it!

For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley. If you are looking for tips on visiting Machu Picchu you can see my post here.

Top Tip for Visiting the Sacred Valley:

Get a guide! I usually like to steer away from organised excursions and do my own thing at my own pace but I also know when it just makes sense to have a guide. The Sacred Valley is one of those places! It is worth splurging for a private tour so that you don’t feel like a flock of sheep in this beautiful place and so that you can make your own decisions about where to visit but you really need a guide to explain what you are looking at and learn about the Inca culture as it is really fascinating history.

We arranged a guide through https://exclusiveinkatour.com/.

Where to stay:

It’s always best to check booking.com for the best accomodation deals.

Getting there, away and around:

You can take the Machu Picchu train in or out of the Scared Valley area, bus or get a private transfer from your guide. We took the train to Machu Picchu and then the train out to Ollantaytambo (a village in the Sacred Valley and the site of one of the ruins). Then our guide collected us from Ollantaytambo – taking us around the Sacred Valley by car before returning to Cusco.

The Sacred Valley is not walkable – except the ruins at Ollantaytambo are very close to Ollantaytambo town and you can easily walk to these if you are staying here.

Food:

The only location for food I can recommend in the Sacred Valley is the resturant at Ollantaytambo Train Station El Albergue. It is quite fine dining but they also don’t care if you arrive stinky and dirty and exhausted from Machu Picchu and its well worth a stop to work up the energy to walk back to your hotel. For other meals, your guide will be able to recommend stops that fit in with your schedule.

What to bring:

Comfortable walking shoes and comfortable clothes + a good camera!

What to expect:

Our route around the Sacred Valley took in the sites of Ollantaytambo ruins – Moray – Maras Salt Mines and Pisac ruins and market. We had already visited Machu Picchu the day before. This is around about the amount of places you can fit in in one long day in the area (with a transfer in or out). You will need a minimum of one full day for Machu Picchu on its own (either a day trip or including staying overnight in Aguas Calientes.

Ollantaytambo ruins were our first stop and these are located on the edge of Ollantaytambo town. You will need to purchase a Boleto Turistico here for Circuit 3 which allows access into Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Chinchero and Moray. Ollantaytambo has some temples, interesting ways of building to examine, a small climb through the ruins and then a beautiful view towards some granaries in the mountains and over the town.

From here, you can drive to Moray; this visit will take about 40 minutes and consists of 2 sets of giant crop circles. You will learn all about the amazing knowledge that the Inca had of agriculture and the purpose of the layered crop planting that you see.

The next stop of Maras is an above ground, outdoor salt mine that you will spend around 40 minutes at. You can view the beautiful pink, brown and white terraces, each of which is used for extracting salt and learn about the production process and the traditional salt mining practice still in use today. This stop is not included in your Boleto Turistico so you will need to pay separately.

A possible last stop is Pisac. There are ruins and a market here – you will find the ruins up a very high hill which can be incredibly windy. This is a large complex with a lot to wander and some incredible views. There is also a large market at Pisac.

If you can spend more time in the Sacred Valley you definitely should! We had a pretty tight timetable but it is a wonderful place to explore more. If you have the budget there is also an amazing hotel here where you stay in pods attached to the side of a cliff. You need to rock-climb up to the hotel and zip-line back.

Erika xx

Visiting Machu Picchu

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Machu Picchu is everything that you think it is and then more. I have always wanted to visit this magical place and I definitely feared that the hype would leave me disappointed. However, the whole place just feels magical even when it is crawling wth tourists or pouring with rain or covered with workers restoring the walls. It helps if you have a tour guide that can explain some of the more fascinating facts of the history of this place while you are standing there within the ancient walls.

For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Top Tip for Visiting Machu Picchu:

I believe the best way to visit Machu Picchu is by walking the 1 day Inka trail which involves 1 day of hiking to reach Machu Picchu and then 1 day spent exploring Machu Picchu. You can also just visit Machu Picchu for the day or do a longer Inka trail but I feel the first option has the best balance and ensures you have enough time at Machu Picchu itself.

Where to stay:

We stayed at Hostel Machu Picchu Land in Aguas Calientes. There is nothing spectacular here but Hostel Machu Picchu Land was clean, tidy, comfortable and cheap. All you can ask for really! It’s always best to check booking.com for the best accomodation deals.

Getting there and away:

The train from Cusco – Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu is the best way to travel between these locations. It also stops at KM 104 for the start of the Inca trail. You can book your journey on the train to fit around your plans at https://www.perurail.com/.

Getting around:

From the town of Aguas Calientes there is a bus that ferries tourists to and from Machu Picchu. It is possible to walk this route but it is long and hilly. Once at Machu Picchu your only form of transport is your feet and you will be doing a lot of walking so I highly recommend just taking the bus. If there is a long queue to get back down and you need to catch a train you can walk down to town in less than an hour.

Food:

Purchase some snacks in advance for Machu Picchu (as there are no places to purchase food within the ruins).

What to bring:

I suggest only bringing a small a small pack or day pack to Machu Picchu as you are restricted as to the amount you can carry on the train and particularly if you are doing the Inka trail you really don’t want to have to carry too much on your back. Here are the key items you should bring with you:

  1. Water in a reusable bottle (for inside Machu Picchu as no plastic bottles are allowed). 
  2. Snacks
  3. A change of clothing
  4. A rain-jacket and a jumper as weather conditions can change very rapidly at Machu Picchu
  5. Very comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots
  6. Camera and Go Pro
Ten seasons in a day at Machu Picchu

What to expect:

Prior to your tour you will be asked to attend a briefing session at the tour offices. This is a great idea to make sure that the itinerary meets expectations and go through any health and safety requirements.

You will then be picked up early in the morning the next day to take the train to the start of the Inka trail. You will do 3 hours of hiking and then stop at the ruins of Winay Wayna. From here, you will continue on to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu – arriving in the afternoon. This is a great photo spot high above Machu Picchu which you are unlikely to have time to walk up to if you visit the ruins for a day.

Once you have walked down from the Sun Gate and taken a few pre-sunset pics of Machu Picchu (its very quiet in the late afternoon and a great time to get a few pictures in) then you will head into Aguas Calientes to have dinner and stay the night.

The next day, you will rise early again and queue for one of the first buses up to Machu Picchu (the first bus is at 5:30am). Once inside the ruins you will have an informative guided tour of the complex from your tour guide. Afterwards, you have the option to climb Huayna Picchu which is a very steep and strenuous 2 hour return trip rewarding you with amazing views. You will then have more time to explore Machu Picchu on your own before heading back down to Aguas Calientes to take the train out of town.

Erika xx

Itinerary: 6 days in Cusco and the Sacred Valley

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

There is so much to see and do in this Peruvian wonderland that I thought there was no way we could fit it into a 6 day itinerary. But we did!

This Cusco itinerary is perfect if you are on a VERY tight timeline. There is definitely more to see and do but this plan covers the must see locations in the most efficient way so you can fit as much in as possible. Be aware that you will have lots of early morning starts in the Sacred Valley and combined with the altitude this will make you VERY tired.

GENERAL INFO

Getting there and away:

I definitely suggest getting to and from Cusco using Peru Hop. It is affordable and helps you to see much more of the country than you would have had you flown to Cusco from Lima. There are some cool places in Peru that you can discover with Peru Hop: see my post here. You can also use Peru Hop/Bolivia Hop to travel from here to La Paz in Bolivia. However, flying is also an easy option if you are lacking in time or to cover one way of the journey.

Accommodation:

Cusco is not cheap but I recommend getting a place as close to the hustle and bustle as you can. Also beware of hills – your accomodation may be super close to the main square but it is likely up a hugre hill and takes a lot longer to walk than expected. I got fit walking around Cusco though!

As always I recommend booking.com – it has the best search function and you can easily see the location and narrow down hotels by a lot of different features.

Food:

  • La Boheme: A French Creperie in the centre of Cusco with both sweet and savoury crepes. A great option if you are looking for a light meal.
  • Kion: A Chifa restaurant in central Cusco. Very pricey but has great cocktails.
  • El Albergue: Traditional Peruvian Cuisine in a beautiful setting at Ollantaytambo train station.

Top Tip:

Drink Coca tea and suck Coca candies to prevent Altitude Sickness. Altitude Sickness is no joke and affects everyone so differently. You really have no idea if its going to hit you or not and how badly and it can be serious stuff. Neither me nor my husband felt it too much other than being a little more tired and out of breath (and even that was only on Rainbow Mountain at 5,000 metres above sea level) but we had a woman on the bus to Cusco with us who passed out in Arequipa and need to be taken to hospital.

DAY 1

On your first day in Cusco take some time to get acclimatised to the high altitude before doing too much strenuous activity.

The best place to start exploring Cusco is at the San Pedro Market. This is a great place to purchase souvenirs but shop around before buying and start haggling at half the given price or less. There are also lots of places to purchase snacks and drinks here.

From here, if you aren’t done with shopping you can visit the Artisan market at the end of Avenida del Sol.

It’s also worth doing some admin tasks for the rest of your visit on this day. Purchase some snacks for Machu Picchu (as there are no places to purchase food within the ruins) and check the weather forecast for Rainbow Mountain in case you want to change your tour day (many tours will let you amend your tour date up to 2 days in advance). Pack a smaller pack to cover what you need for the next 3 days and leave the rest of your luggage at your Cusco hotel.

If you still have time left in your day, you can people watch in Plaza de Armas – but don’t stay out too late as you have your first of multiple early starts the next day!

DAY 2

Today you should plan to take the one day Inka Trail to Machu Picchu. I find the one day Inka trail to have a good balance of adventure, great views, trekking and enough time at Machu Picchu without having to sleep in the jungle and take up too much of your time in the Sacred Valley.

It’s a good activity option for your 2nd and 3rd day as although it is physically strenuous its a lower elevation than Cusco. It also somewhat separates your early starts so you don’t have too many in a row.

We did this tour with Exclusive Inka Tour who paired us with a great guide and were quite amenable to the few changes I wanted to make to the standard itinerary (with some insistence from my end). Your tour will pick you up around 4am and take you to catch the 6:10am train from Ollantaytambo to KM 104. You will do a full day of hiking ending at the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu and descending into the ruins. You then get a short amount of time in the complex to take pictures before heading down to the town of Aguas Calientes to stay the night. Usually dinner at a local restaurant is included in your tour.

DAY 3

The first bus to Machu Picchu from Agaus Calientes in the morning is at 5:30am and any good tour operator will have you up and queueing early so that you can get on one of the first few buses. Go to the bathroom before you go into Machu Picchu as there are none inside the complex. Once inside, you will have a guided tour through the complex and are then left to explore on your own. I highly recommend booking tickets to climb up Huayna Picchu mountain (Purchased in advance of the day; the walk is a 2 hour round trip). If you purchased tickets, you will have a specific time-slot to climb soon after your guided tour.

View from the top of Huayna Picchu



Spend the full day at Machu Picchu. Your ticket allows you a half day pass and you won’t get kicked out but we purchased an afternoon ticket also so that we could leave the complex to use the toilet and then come back in. Machu Picchu will capture your attention for this long I promise – it also allows you to wait out any rain or cloudy weather (as we had in the middle of the day) and take more photographs afterwards.

The last train out from Aguas Calientes is at 6:20pm to Ollantaytambo. Don’t arrange for your Machu Picchu tour to collect you from the train and take you back to Cusco: stay the night in Ollantaytambo. Use the extra time you have just gained to have a beautiful meal at the train station restaurant El Albergue in Ollantaytambo (you need to book – the train arrives here just after 8pm).

The perfect view of Machu Picchu

DAY 4

Today is the best day to tour the Sacred Valley as you are already there! We suggest hiring a private tour guide as its super affordable, they really know their stuff, you can then choose where you would like them to take you and the area is rural so you can’t get to a lot of the sites without a tour anyway.

On our one day tour (we highly recommend all of these sites) we visited the following locations:

Ollantaytambo Ruins (need about 1 hour 30 mins here)

Moray (1 hour drive from Ollantaytambo Ruins – need about 40 minutes here)

Maras Salt Mines (30 mins from Moray – need about 40 minutes here)

Pisac (1 hour 30 mins drive from Maras – need about 1 hour here for the ruins and 40 minutes for the market).

After Pisac you should return to Cusco – this is another 1 hour drive.

DAY 5

Today you will have another extremely early start to climb up Rainbow Mountain. There are hundreds of tour providers. We went with Rainbow Mountain Travels which was a great choice as they are the tour that reaches the mountain earliest – unfortunately this also means the earliest tour start at 3am. It’s a 2 hour drive from Cusco to Rainbow Mountain and the tours provide breakfast nearby. Take the trek to the mountain slowly if you need to, make sure you go right up to the top for the best photographs and views and do the slight detour for views of the red valley afterwards if you can manage it – its well worth the extra climb and descent. You will have lunch and then arrive back at Cusco in the afternoon.

DAY 6

You will probably want to sleep in and relax today so plan to take it easy and not squeeze too much in. If you have the energy, you can walk up past the Saqsayhuaman ruins to Cristo Blanco for great views (of the city and free views of the ruins). Head back down into the centre via Hatunrumiyoc Street (take a pic of the 12 angled stone, admire the beautiful street) to Cusco Cathedral.

In the Afternoon, visit the Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Qurikancha) Don’t bother with the paid part just go inside the church. There is a nice view over the plaza here.

Use this advice to plan your ultimate trip to Peru!

Erika xx