Tipón - Laguna de Huacarpay - Pisac - Urubamba - Ollantaytambo - Maras - Moray - Chinchero

Weekend trip, just the two of us on a scooter through the Sacred Valley. Near the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, you can book day tours to the Sacred Valley everywhere. It seemed a bit boring to us, so we decided to do it on our own, which we believe was the best decision we could make.

Last Thursday, my girlfriend Noortje, whom I know from school in Lima and with whom I already spent a weekend in La Merced, came to Cusco. On Friday, we spontaneously decided to rent a scooter for three days. After that, we went to my apartment and booked two accommodations through Airbnb.

After a long, cozy breakfast in my apartment and finally finding a suitable helmet for us, we started our tour from Cusco to Tipón at 10:00 AM.

Tipón is an Inca ruin at an altitude of 3450 meters, consisting of gardens, temples, and twelve terraces that symbolize the twelve months of the year. The irrigation systems of the terraces were particularly impressive.

Next stop: Laguna de Huacarpay. Laguna de Huacarpay is a lake surrounded by reeds. Beautiful and natural. First, we rode the scooter around the lake. Afterwards, we made a stop on an old bridge and looked for a little spot for a small picnic. We then rested for an hour on a high seat overlooking the lake. Next to the high seat, a small tourist group had their lunch. As dessert, they had an ice pop, which was wrapped in plastic. After the tourist group went back to their van, we noticed that all the trash, the plastic wrappings, had been left on the grass. Noortje and I felt that the place was too beautiful and too natural to leave the trash behind, so we ran to the van and asked if they had a plastic bag for us. After they asked why we needed the bag at all, we tried to explain politely that we would like to dispose of the trash. Then a Dutch woman from the tourist group indignantly said, “You should rather change the thinking of Peruvians than pick up the trash.” Luckily, Noortje responded promptly and explained that it’s not possible to change culture as individuals, but at least we can dispose of the plastic that destroys the environment. One person, a Peruvian, then helped us to collect the trash, but we were speechless after hearing the Dutch woman's response.

Next destination: the ruins of Pisac. We wandered for about 4 hours through the gardens, temples, and terraces of Pisac, as the site was incredibly large and impressive. Unfortunately, it is not exactly known when the Inca site in Pisac was created. We were speechless because we lacked an understanding of how the Incas could build such an incredibly large site without resources.

After that, we rode to our hostel for €15 for two people with a bathroom, hot water, and usable kitchen. The owner (about 60) was incredibly warm and showed us her garden and a reading corner and explained a bit about her plants (of course in Spanish).

On Saturday, we visited the market in Pisac, drank a smoothie, bought fruit for fruit salad, and enjoyed breakfast in our accommodation.

Around 12:00 PM, we made a stop in Urubamba, ate an ice cream at the Plaza de Armas, and visited a huge market hall. Continuing on the scooter, we went to Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo was built in 1536 and is also an Inca ruin, especially known for the “Templo del Sol.” However, this ruin was very touristy, so when we left the ruin and looked back up at the terraces, we could only see people. I find it very unfortunate as it somehow destroys the “spiritual” aspect of the Inca ruin. Ollantaytambo is surrounded by mountains, so in the late afternoon, the sun really only shines in the Plaza de Armas in the middle of the little town. There sat a guitarist, making a bit of music, so we decided to just enjoy everything for an hour. Around 5:00 PM, we decided to have dinner in Ollantaytambo. A silly idea, as we had to ride back to Urubamba for another hour, and the sun sets at 6:00 PM. So we had to ride back to Urubamba in complete darkness. I was a bit afraid that we would scare the dogs in the dark and that they might snap at us. Noortje didn’t trust the other drivers and was a bit scared of drunk people on the roadside. Arriving in Urubamba, a Frenchman opened the door for us, who opened a hostel in Urubamba in 2009. The hostel for €10 for two people with breakfast was very cozy and clean, but the water in the shower was ice-cold, so I got a headache while showering. The next morning, we met a German couple with an 18-year-old son from Leipzig, who had just graduated from high school and received a two-and-a-half-week trip to Peru with his parents as a graduation gift. While we thought “How cool are the parents” for staying in hostels, hiking at different altitudes, etc., the son seemed rather disinterested in Peru and annoyed. After a nice conversation, we set off for Maras. In the “Salineras de Maras,” salt is produced in a natural way. “It is suspected that the source of the spring water comes from a deep halite deposit in the Maras formation, dated back 110 million years.” However, the dimensions really only become apparent on site.

Next destination: Moray. Also an Inca ruin. There you could observe that the Incas unfortunately didn’t finish building the complex. The road there could hardly be called a road anymore, and after 5 km, we were glad to finally arrive.

Last stop: Chinchero and Laguna de Puray. Chinchero is a very small town. In Chinchero, the terraces of the Incas can also be seen. Chinchero is well known for its church, which unfortunately is in very poor condition. The wall paintings in the church have nearly faded, and there is also a lot of clutter in the church as they don’t know where to put it. I was a bit confused about whether the church is still “used,” so I asked a guard if there are still services held there. Every Sunday and Thursday, services are held in the completely cluttered church, including weddings and baptisms. Laguna Puray was just a short detour on the way back to Cusco. There, cows, pigs, donkeys, and sheep were wandering around completely free, not fenced in.

In my opinion, it was a perfect weekend, and I am very glad that we didn’t just book a day tour because that way we could take our time to look at everything. The nature and landscape could thus also have a better effect on us, so I actually got goosebumps several times due to the beauty of nature.