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Second stop: Peru, Part 4: Inka,Inka,Inka

Wotae: 04.12.2018

The last major section of our trip to Peru took us on the trail of the Incas. The area around Cusco, especially the "Valle Sagrado de los Incas," is home to a variety of ancient sites of this culture. At this point, we want to mention that you will miss out on a lot if you limit your trip to Cusco to just a visit to Machu Picchu. While Machu Picchu is certainly the most famous attraction in Peru, we have found that this does not necessarily mean how worth seeing a place is. Therefore, our first stop took us to Pisac, a small village in the Sacred Valley that is famous for its well-preserved sacred Inca site as well as its market. Another self-proclaimed celebrity in the village was the owner of our hotel and his family, who enhanced our stay with their loud parties and immense alcohol consumption. All jokes aside, we probably met the king of loud Peruvians there and spent sleepless nights. But back to the beautiful things: Pisac's market, which stretches through half the village, blew us away with its colorful colors and made us richer by a tablecloth and a sweater.

Market in Pisac
Market in Pisac


Everything is handmade
Everything is handmade


Colorful Peru
Colorful Peru


In addition, the Inca ruins of Pisac enchanted us with their size and location, as they are located in the midst of steep mountains with deep canyons. In addition, we had the pleasure of exploring their winding houses and steep terraces almost completely alone. This circumstance is rather rare in the Sacred Valley, as it is one of the most popular destinations for all travelers.

Inca ruins of Pisac
Inca ruins of Pisac


Natalie finds flowers everywhere
Natalie finds flowers everywhere


The best part of exploring ruins: you never know what awaits you at the next window
The best part of exploring ruins: You never know what awaits you at the next window


To find some peace after Pisac, we ventured deeper into the Sacred Valley to the beautiful village of Ollantaytambo. This place is famous above all for its Inca site, which was designed in the shape of a llama. While priests and astronomers probably lived with their servants in the Inca site of Pisac, the Inca site of Ollantaytambo housed the more prosperous bourgeoisie, princes and princesses, and had some ceremonial rooms, such as a Sun Temple. This site is also very well preserved and tells the story of a more bourgeois life in Inca times. We have found that the life of an Inca must have been very strenuous and they must have been very fit, as all the sites consist mainly of stairs.

Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo's Inca site: Can you recognize the llama?


The Incas knew what a good view is
The Incas knew what a good view is


Inca princesses' bathroom
Inca princesses' bathroom


A small ruin on the other side of the village
A small ruin on the other side of the village


Our favorite viewpoint over Ollantaytambo
Our favorite viewpoint over Ollantaytambo


In our accommodation, we also felt like a prince and a princess, as both the view of the ruins and the breakfast left nothing to be desired. However, peace was not granted to us here either, as it is nice to have a river right next to the house, but during the rainy season it can get quite loud.


Jan enjoys the flowers outside the door
Jan enjoys the flowers outside the door


Picturesque alleys in Ollantaytambo
Picturesque alleys in Ollantaytambo


In Moray, we also explored the facilities for experimental agriculture of the Incas and saw the Salinas of Maras, which are used to extract salt from a mountain river, both then and now.

Experimental agricultural terraces of Moray
Experimental agricultural terraces of Moray


Fun in Inca ruins never ends
Fun in Inca ruins never ends


Salinas of Maras
Salinas of Maras


The small stream right next to Jan supplies all ponds with saltwater
The small stream right next to Jan supplies all ponds with saltwater


The whole family helps with salt extraction
The whole family helps with salt extraction


To reach the last Inca site of our journey back in time, we had to return to the urban jungle of Cusco. Even though we were dreading it because we are not fans of big cities and have not had good experiences with cities in Peru, Cusco turned out to be surprisingly beautiful. Although this is limited to a single street, along which many old churches and meeting places are located, but at least we could also enjoy city life here.

Cusco from above: The location of the city is truly fantastic
Cusco from above: The location of the city is truly fantastic


Art on Cusco
Art on Cusco's Plaza de Armas


Children marching in uniform in parades shocked us in several cities
Children marching in uniform in parades shocked us in several cities


Early in the morning (yes, the early wake-up call lasted throughout our entire trip to Peru), we took a taxi and a train to Machu Picchu Pueblo, formerly known as Aguas Calientes, the village at the foot of Machu Picchu. This village can only be reached on foot or by train, and since we couldn't spend 5 days just getting to Machu Picchu, we had to forego the popular Salkantay Trek and instead let Peru Rail whisk us away in a panoramic train. After 3 weeks in Peru, this experience was pure luxury for us, as we were even provided with food and drink and had a beautiful view of the cloud forest.

A picturesque train ride through the increasingly dense vegetation
A picturesque train ride through the increasingly dense vegetation


Arriving in Machu Picchu Pueblo, we found that it consists of only two things: hotels and restaurants. Honestly, a trip to Machu Picchu is like a parallel world to the true Peru: Suddenly you are surrounded by tourists, nice restaurants, and English-speaking Peruvians, and there is no street noise. It's very nice in a way, but simply not authentic for Peru.

The mighty Inca king was not favorable to us
The mighty Inca king was not favorable to us


To get from the village to Machu Picchu itself, there are also the alternatives of a steep and steep hiking trail or a half-hour bus ride. We decided to take the bus up in the morning and walk back on foot in the afternoon. This decision was mainly made because our Machu Picchu ticket was time-bound and we had to be at the back end of the site at 7 a.m. to climb Huayna Picchu, a mountain next to the Inca site. Therefore, we took the bus at 5:30 a.m., drove up to the Inca ruins through thick fog, and made our way through the foggy, mystical Machu Picchu to start our mountain ascent. This consisted of about 600 steep and sometimes almost 1 meter high steps along steep cliffs, which took our breath away in the literal sense.


Through the fog towards Huayna Picchu
Through the fog towards Huayna Picchu

Jan has found a new friend (understands him as well as the Peruvians)
Jan has found a new friend (understands him as well as the Peruvians)


Beginning of a steep ascent
Beginning of a steep ascent


The first staircase of death
The first staircase of death


When we finally reached the summit after about 1.5 hours (Natalie a little shaky from the "Stairs of Death"), we realized that it was no longer just foggy, but also starting to rain. What we initially dismissed as a brief shower to ourselves and all our fellow hikers quickly turned into hours of rainy weather, which meant that the view of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu was denied to us and we began our slippery and soaking wet descent. Nevertheless, a hike to Huayna Picchu is worthwhile alone because of the thrill, even if you should be very flexible to squeeze through very small gaps and climb high steps.

The so-called "Stairs of Death"
The so-called "Stairs of Death"


Unfortunately, the bad weather continued further down in the Inca ruins themselves, and since you only have a limited time period after entering the ruins, we had to reluctantly accept that we would not see every corner in full splendor. But we consoled ourselves with the fact that it is probably rarer to explore Machu Picchu in pouring rain than in sunshine, and that we got impressions and photos that you won't find on Google or postcards. So in the rain, Machu Picchu turns into a river with many small waterfalls and drives away most tourists, which allowed us to experience the ruins somewhat undisturbed (OK, except for the fact that we were soaking wet and half frozen).

Us and Machu together in the rain
Us and Machu together in the rain


Of course, alpacas cannot be missing
Of course, alpacas cannot be missing


Exploring the winding ruins of Machu Picchu
Exploring the winding ruins of Machu Picchu


More steps!
More steps!


Birds amid exotic plants
Birds amid exotic plants


Hummingbird
Hummingbird


And fortunately, the bad weather stopped towards the end of our stay, so the descent of over 1700 steps back to the village was a successful conclusion to an exciting day. In short, it can be said that for Machu Picchu, you need a good rain jacket, strong knees, and patience in order to experience it in all its splendor. But at least the patience part probably applies to many things in South America.

Birds amid exotic plants
Birds amid exotic plants


Hummingbird
Hummingbird


Conclusion: The Sacred Valley has a lot to offer, much more than just Machu Picchu. And while we were very impressed by the size and surroundings of Machu Picchu, it was the other Inca ruins that brought us closer to this culture and enchanted us.

After these beautiful days, we only relaxed in the most beautiful accommodation of our trip to Peru and then made our way back to Lima, so this is the last entry about Peru. Peru, you blew us away in a positive but also negative sense. Your nature and cultural sites, your handicrafts and your food were worth a trip and will always remain in our memory. However, for next time, we would prefer if you could turn down the volume a bit and improve your hygienic "standards" a bit.

Thank you Peru for your diversity and our beautiful moments
Thank you Peru for your diversity and our beautiful moments


And with that: Good morning Chile!

Song of our Inca Adventures: Just one day - Mighty Oaks

Ŋuɖoɖo (2)

Dave
Wow! That's a lot of stairs! How many rock souvenirs did you carry down??? Great pictures! We are all very impressed by your photos. We will show them to Opi on Sunday. I'm even more impressed that anyone can climb those stairs. I used to be younger and fitter, but I don't think I could have done it then. Mama wants to say "es ist toll".

Natalie
I didn't find any cool rocks there, but now I've found some and I'm going to keep them, no matter what happens. If necessary I will carry them in my backpack for the whole year :D I found a fossil and a rock that turned into glass when a volcano erupted 10 years ago! Honestly the stairs were pretty bad for my knees, but it was worth it. I'm happy you're enjoying our pictures! :)

Peru
Mɔzɔzɔ ŋuti nyatakakawo Peru