On July 2024 I travelled for work to Peru. It was a workweek that started on a Thursday, so I had a weekend in between to scout around. My boss surprised us by booking an express trip to Cusco and the Archaeological sites and nature close to the city. EXCITING! On the trip, we did a tour following the Inca Trail. I used to believe that the only archaeological site was Machu Pichu, but on this trip, I discovered some other sites worth visiting too. My favorite was the last one!!!
Cusco
Once you have reached Lima you will need to take an internal flight to Cusco. Cusco is one hour away by plane from Lima and is a beautiful Colonial City worth touring. One particularity of Cusco is its elevation, being around 3500 meters above sea level. This high altitude can make many tourists sick due to the lack of oxygen at such heights. To prevent this, at least one hour before reaching Cusco you take Coca pills or a Coca leaves tea, these are available in drugstores. Coca aids the body in producing more red blood cells, which can then transport more oxygen through the body and like this prevent feeling dizzy and nauseous.
Going back to the city, in Cusco, I recommend staying at least two nights. The first day should be spent discovering the city, and the second one should be spent resting after visiting the Inca Trail.
In Cusco I recommend visiting the local market, the central square and downtown plus eating at least once at Chicha the restaurant of Gastón Acurio. Bear in mind to have light meals and alcohol-free drinks at least on your first day in Cusco. It will prevent you from feeling sick and will promote proper sleep during the first night.
In our visit, after resting for one night, on the next day at 8 am our tour along the Inca Trail and to the Sacred Valley started. There are at least 11 archeological sites along the Inca Trail and around the Sacred Valley. On our tour, we made 4 stops
Sacsayhuaman
After driving for around an hour up the mountains around Cusco we reached Sacsayhuaman. From the site, you can see Cusco below the mountain. The tour guide opened with a joke, to remember this name you might as well say “sexy woman”, nevertheless sacsayhuaman means “satiate falcon” or “speckled falcon”, the falcon was for the Incas a totem character. The site dates from the year 1460 and is one of the biggest Inca monuments, amazing mainly due to its giant stone blocks with which it was built. Until today, we are not sure how those massive stones were transported to reach there. Even the Spanish, during their conquest, could not conceive that it had been done by humans. Today researchers argue that Sacsayhuaman could have been a fortress. Some others defend that it could have been a temple, a refugee from the city, a devotion site for the thunders, or even a symbol of the military power of the Incas. It is believed that Sacsayhuaman architecture was composed of 3 towers, one of them 4 floors tall. Today what is left to see in the visit is the first level of the original construction. Nevertheless, it is sufficiently mind-blowing to look at what remains and wonder how possibly those stones could have been raised on several levels or even dragged around.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Continuing our tour up the mountain we made a quick stop to glance at the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The entire route is beautiful and doing at least a stop along the way to look down at the valley is gorgeous.
All of the mountains frame the horizon of the different towns and archaeological sites along the Inca Trail. The Sacred Valley is composed of valleys connected by the Urubamba River between the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo.
According to Inca Mythology, the valley is considered sacred because the Incas believed the Urubamba River would end its flow along the valley by connecting to the Milky Way, the celestial river.
Scholars today believe that the Incas studied the Universe in depth in sanctuaries built around the Valley by observing constellations. They classified constellations into three categories, the shiny ones(made of bright stars), the dark ones (confirmed by the dark zones in the skies), and the mixture of both.
Pisac
Pisac is a site to appreciate the best of the architecture of the Incas. Pisac is also the archaeological complex that marks the start of the Sacred Valley. There are three landmarks to observe: the fortress, the temple of the sun lying at the summit of the mountain, and the city itself. From the fortress, the valley can be observed. The temple of the sun overtakes most of the land at the summit of the mountain and is divided into seven sections of perfect architectonic design, some of the constructions evidence cult altars and baths for religious ceremonies that today still have natural water. It is considered the most beautiful of the Inca ruins.
The city is composed of 20 lined-up buildings close to the spectacular terraces of Pisac. The terraces are evidence that in the town lived farmers, and they used the terraces to grow crops to feed the town. Today the remains of these constructions are evidence that they were part of the city and not of the military or religious sectors due to the lesser quality of their architecture.
Ollantaytambo
For me the most worth visiting town was Ollantaytambo, which is a city close to the end of the Inca Trail and the closest one to Machu Pichu, from this town you can catch a train to the famous Machu Pichu city.
Ollantaytambo offers an archaeological complex worth visiting and climbing up one of the mountains of the Sacred Valley. Some scholars consider that the design of the structure on the mountain seems like the shape of a Llama and that the complex was most likely worshipped there.
Mythological aspects left aside, the design of the structure along the mountainside is beautiful, providing a panoramic view of what seems stairs towards the temple.
What I found the most amazing of this last stop was the town that preserves today the Inca urban designs and the authenticity of its inhabitants who many times still speak indigenous languages instead of Spanish. The Town is one of the most special places I have seen. Its streets are made of cable stone and the walls of the houses are just as spectacular are those I saw in Sacsayhuaman. Imagine a town of stone where you find good food, local markets, a central square with lively music, karaoke bars, and boutique hotels to stay. There was also a contemporary museum that had a food laboratory where I saw potatoes I had never seen before. Then I was told that there are over 2000 varieties of potatoes in Peru.
Frankly, from all the stops, in this one I wish I had stayed a night, the air was fresh, and the streets were impeccably clean, some downhill corridors had small water canals at the edges, making it a relaxed atmosphere. I recommend to spend a day in this place.
Some Last Thoughts
I was very content to have visited several archaeological complexes and towns along the Inca trail and around the Sacred Valley. At least in the past, I had never heard of the places in the tour we did, and I confirm it is worth it. I consider that very easily we plan to visit famous landmarks and could, unfortunately, miss other valuable visits. When going to Peru I recommend doing this tour I did. For me, it would have been perfect to stay the night in Ollantaytambo and take the train the next day to Machu Pichu in the morning. It would have been the cherry on the cake but I had to fly back to Lima on that same day (Sunday) to attend my work meetings on Monday. It will have to be next time! In the meantime, I am happy to have visited several underestimated towns and areas along the Inca Trail. There is a lot of Peru to discover!
With Love,
Sofia
