Peru - The Sacred Valley and the Inca Trail

The beautiful Río Urubamba valley, popularly known as El Valle Sagrado (the Sacred Valley), is about 15km north of Cusco. The star attractions are the Inca ruins of Pisac and Ollantaytambo, but the valley is also packed with other Inca sites, as well as hectic markets and traditional Andean villages. We visited both of the above on our way to start the Inca Trail. They were both pretty amazing but not a touch on Machu Piccu. It is the best-known archaeological site on the continent. I have always wanted to trek along the route the Incas took so I was extremely excited!





After visiting the towns of Pisaca and Ollantaytambo we headed for our campsite. We camped at km82 for the night before getting up early and starting the 4 day trek. We were met by 16 porters (there were only 10 of us) at the camp, we paid them to carry our bags and also all the camping equipment. We arrived and were shown our tents and then food was cooked under the ground covered with hot coals. We got an early night and then set off at 8am the next morning. The trek was great and we were extremely lucky with the weather and only had one day of grotty weather (the sexy ponchos were worn!). Tom wore his $1 poncho during the first down pour and was much drier than me, wearing my brand new (very expensive) Northface jacket, so after that the poncho was worn all the time.




Each night we arrived at our camp to find the porters already set up. They are absolutely amazing, they actually run past you as you are struggling up the hills. They are carrying lots of weight on their back and are wearing sandles and make it look so easy - I felt pretty pathetic! We were lucky and had a great group which consisted of a lovely family of 4 from Canada, a couple from Venezuela who were on their honeymoon, a french and Australian and us. Bizarely Alex and Olivia Meggy, Guernsey girls from back home were also doing the trek! We had a Guernsey reunion picture at the sun gate overlooking Machu Piccu!


We were both pretty impressed with ouirselves as we didn´t feel the altitude or any pains afterwards, I actually felt fitter! Some of the path was really uneven and we encountered thousands of steep steps with high inclinations. The highest point was 4200m called the ´Dead woman´s Path´





After trekking for 4 days and passing through high-mountain desert, cloud forest, and mountain passes covering a distance of 35kms we eventually made it to the sun gate overlooking Maccu Pichu, it was worth getting up at 3.30am for, the view was amazing. We then hiked down to Machu Piccu and had a tour of the site for a couple of hours. The place is amazing and definitely worth a visit, I would recommend the hike to anyone, it is tough, but much more rewarding than arriving on the train with the other hundreds of tourists.





After looking around the site we got a bus down to the town Aguas calientes - don´t go there! We managed to change our ticket and head back on the train from Aguas Calientes to Cusco early. We arrived and had the first shower in 4 days - it was heaven. We were pretty smelly to put it mildly! We spent the next day wondering around cusco before getting a night bus to Puno.

Peru - Cusco

Cusco was once the capital city of the Inca empire, and is now the archaeological capital of South America. From here is the gateway to Machu Picchu so we stayed for 2days before our Inca Trail trek and 1 day afterwards. Massive Inca-built walls line steep, narrow cobblestone streets and form the foundations of modern buildings. The plazas are filled with Quechua-speaking descendants of the Incas, and ancient treasures are carefully guarded inside colonial mansions and churches. The city is at 3600m so we had to take it easy at first. We spent time walking along the cobbled streets and exploring the city on foot.




On Christmas Eve we went to the famous market held in the main square called ´Plaza de Armas,´ where hundreds of stalls were selling natural material to make nativity scenes. We went to bed to hundreds and hundreds of fireworks being let off at midnight, people were setting them off everywhere you looked. Our hostel room overlooked the city and the skyline was filled with fireworks wherever you looked, it was beautiful. On Christmas Day, we saw a couple of Christmas parades along the streets. People dressed up in traditonal costumes and masks and danced down the streets to music. We went to Tommy´s favourite Polleria for lunch - AGAIN! We had to go a total of 3 times during our time in Cusco because it was such a bargain! We paid less than $7 between us for a salad buffet, roasted chicken and chips!!! It is Tom´s favourite restaurant in the world apparently! We set off on the Inca trail on Boxing Day.




When we returned from the Inca Trail we freshened up - not having a shower for 4 nights and walking , we smelt lovely! On New Years Eve I drove Tommy mad by dragging him around the hundreds of markets. The traditional textiles are lovely, so I brought lots of presents and enjoyed browsing the stalls. We found a great local market where we ended up spending a few hours. I found some great bargains, and Tom was happy as we found some amazing juice bars. In preparation for New Year all of the market stalls were selling yellow underwear. It is hilarious as every stall down every street sells exactly the same thing! Stall after stall were selling yellow pants and bras. I asked one of the assistants why and she explained that the yellow is for good luck and prosperity, apparently if you wear yellow you will be rich in the new year!


The only thing I did not like about Cusco was the number of people begging, on every street corner is a poor person begging. I just felt really guilty when I didn´t give them any spare change.

Peru - Arequipa and the Colca Valley

We arrived early morning in Arequipa after taking the night bus. We stayed in a very nice hostal called ´Las Penguinos,´ just outside down town centre. Arequipa is Peru’s second-largest city and is known as the ´the white city´ due to the buildings being made from an off-white volcanic rock called sillar that dazzles in the sun. The city has lots of grand colonial buildings, with distinctive stonework. The stately Plaza de Armas is the main square, along with countless beautiful colonial churches, monasteries and mansions scattered throughout the city. We visited the famous monastery de Catolina which was like a small village in its own. I was in my eliment taking photographs of the place.






The following morning we got picked up bright and early and headed on a tour to the Colca Valley and the famous Colca canyon. The 100km-long Cañón del Colca is set among high volcanoes (6613m-high Coropuna and 6310m-high Ampato are the tallest) and ranges from 1000m to more than 3000m in depth. The canyon is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA. As the drive to the Colca Valley goes over 4200m we were encouraged to chew cocoa leaves to reduce the effects of altitude sickness, we conly found out afterwards that they are actually the same leaves that are used to make cocaine! The drive to the valley was beautiful and the scenery was incredible.








The deep valley and generally sunny weather produce frequent updrafts, especially along the canyon’s southern edge between Maca and Cabanaconde, and soaring condors can often be seen at close range (we only got to see one from a distance though!). The local people are known for their highly decorative traditional clothing. The women’s dresses and jackets are intricately embroidered, and their hats are distinctive. In the Chivay area at the east end of the canyon, the white hats are usually woven from straw and are embellished with lace, sequins and medallions. At the west end of the canyon, the hats are of cotton and are painstakingly embroidered. I thought the material was so beautiful that I brought two pieces of material in beatiful designs. I´m going to have them made into dresses when I get back. We stayed in the capital of the valley Chivay and splashed out and stayed in the Casa Andina - a very expensive hotel, it was well worth it though just for a night. Peru´s scenery is very similar to Ecaudor´s and the traditional costume and cuisine is similar. I wish we had longer to explore.....