The Sacred Valley and the Andes (Peru)

Apart from Machu Picchu, there is so much to discover in the Cusco region.

Right next to the city, behind a hill, lies Sacsayhuamán, a former Inca fortress. It was probably also used as a sacred site. There you can admire huge monolithic rocks that have been perfectly carved.

Just north of Cusco, the Sacred Valley runs, in this valley flows the Urubamba River, which was also sacred to the Incas. This river originates in the mountains around Lake Titicaca, on the border with Bolivia. That is where the Inca civilization also comes from. This river flows past Machu Picchu until it merges with the Rio Ucayali, the sacred river of the Shipibo tribe, after 750km. This river then joins the Rio Marañon to form the mighty Amazon.

Along the Urubamba River in the Sacred Valley, you can find countless Inca sites. We visited the small town of Ollantaytambo, where you can find a military outpost of the Incas and the Temple of the Sun on a rock above the town.

Further up in the mountains was the site of Moray. Perfectly circular terraces, which probably served the Incas as an agricultural experiment. Apart from being beautiful to look at, we also had a great view of the snow-capped Andes from there.

If you follow the Andes range further towards Bolivia, you will discover a natural wonder, the Montaña de Colores (Rainbow Mountain) and the Red Valley. During this hike, we reached an altitude of over 5,000m, which of course made breathing more difficult. But we were rewarded with a magnificent view. Below us lay the Montaña de Colores, and under the blue sky, the colors were particularly vibrant. To our left rose the highest mountain in this region, Ausangate (6,384m), and to our right, behind the next mountain range, we saw the Red Valley. We also hiked there, an unreal landscape but beautiful.