So here goes….
Day 2 of my travels abroad (I can’t believe I just began my
one year journey abroad). On Dec. 9,
2013, I went on a tour of the “Sacred Valley” located in Peru. We started out in Cusco on a tour bus that
took us through the Sacred Valley stopping in Pisaq, Urubamba and
Ollantaytambo. Each stop had its own
unique qualities and beauty. And
according to the tour guide we were told that the Inkas picked the Sacred
Valley as a place to live in because of its alignment with the stars and
planets above, giving it a unique energetic property that is found in few
places on this planet.
Along the way to Pisaq we had a gorgeous view of the entire
Sacred Valley below it. We stopped in a
shopping area along the way to Pisaq.
This is where we purchased Coca Candy to help with “altitude sickness”
and where I purchased my first alpaca sweater.
It was actually made from “baby alpaca” fur. There was also a lady in the parking lot of
this shopping area who was there with her alpacas that I got to take a few
pictures with. Once we got to Pisaq you
could see all of the “terraces” that the ancient Inkas had built. It is truly breathtaking and the fact the Incas
(aka Inkas) were only around for a few centuries makes these sites quite
astonishing. We climbed up the mountain
to view the surrounding terraces from above and also saw remains of an ancient
Inca’s home.
Once we arrived in Urubamba we were taken to a very large
silver jewelry store. Then we went to
have a buffet lunch at some restaurants nearby.
Our group was large, so we divided into several different
restaurants. I didn’t know anyone yet,
so I sat alone, since the others that were at the same restaurant as me spoke a
different language (I have yet to meet any Bulgarian speakers along my travels,
but I am still hoping I might one day this year). As we exited the restaurant I saw a Tuk Tuk
pass us by (they seem to be in each country I’ve traveled to from Peru to S.
Africa to China (though not as popular as scooters and buses are there) and
here in Sri Lanka as well – but back to Peru for now). In Urubamba I got the opportunity to actually
hike up several of the terraces (rather than view them around me, as we did in
Pisaq). Once we got to the top of the
terraces, we observed a mountain nearby where they believe that the top of the
mountain looks like the face of an Inca.
Ollantaytambo was our last stop of the tour. By then I had made several friends and was
truly enjoying the magnificence of my surroundings. I met two lovely ladies who were also
traveling to several different countries, Cynthia and Nataly. We took some pictures together here and
exchanged contact information.
Ollantaytambo had a natural fountain, lots of old houses and great views
as well. After our tour guide finished sharing
his wealth of information about the Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo, I
deboarded the tour bus as this was my last stop. I now needed to find my way on the small
streets to the train (Peru Rail).
Luckily my Spanish was coming back to me and I was able to successfully
ask, “Donde vas Peru Rail?” (where is Peru Rail). It took less than 20 min. to walk there. I got to the ticket office and had nearly 2
hours to wait. I sat there at least 30
minutes as I kept looking and realizing there was no train or train tracks in
the immediate vicinity. Then I realized
I had to continue walking to another location where I would actually board the
Peru Rail to continue on its scenic route to Aguas Calientes (my next stop
before going to Machu Picchu and Waynapicchu – see my next blog below for more
details and pictures).
Below is information on the tour package I bought and tips
on how you could save money on booking the same. SCROLL DOWN BELOW THAT TO SEE A LIST OF THE PICTURES YOU WILL
SEE WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE LINK I HAVE PROVIDED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG!
Tour Information
When I had first arrived at the Cusco airport in Peru, I
paid for a 2-day package deal that included the Sacred Valley Tour (with lunch
in Urubamba), a train to Aguas Calientes (after my last stop in Ollantaytambo),
a tour of Machu Picchu the following day along with a pass to hike to the top
of Waynapicchu. The package, with all
transportation included (and a lunch stop in Urubamba) was $340 (US). If you are looking to do a similar
combination, you could save a bit of money if you book everything online ahead
of time. You would want to look to book
the following:
1)
A tour of the Sacred Valley that picks you up in
Cusco and ends in Ollantaytambo,
2)
A ticket to enter Sacred Valley – most tour
companies do not include this and you have to pay separate for it,
3)
A ticket for the train from Ollantaytambo to
Aguas Calientes,
4)
A hostel or hotel in Aguas Calientes,
5)
A roundtrip bus pass departing from Aguas
Calientes and going up to Machu Picchu and back down (it is about a 30 min. bus
ride – you could choose to trek to the top instead of the taking the bus which
people said takes about 1.5 hours to do but I say give yourself at least 2
hours. Most people don’t trek so they can save their energy to hike around
Machu Picchu and if you’re brave, to the top of Waynapicchu (the highest
mountain top by Machu Picchu – which trek takes about 1.5 hours on average to
get to the top or if you’re slow like me, 2 hours to get to the top and another
2 hours back down), SIDE NOTE: You will need your passport to enter Machu
Picchu and as a cool bonus for complying with presenting your passport, you can
ask that they actually “stamp your passport” and you will receive a stamp of
the mountain and it’s name in your actual passport next to your stamp that was
placed there when you entered Peru,
6)
A tour of Machu Picchu (I used Kosmos Tours, but
there are many others to choose from) – you could walk around without a guide,
but you won’t have the same experience since you won’t have someone telling you
about the ruins and the history of the mountains),
7)
If you want to hike to the top of Waynapicchu
you MUST purchase a ticket ahead of time (depending on the season, these
tickets can sell out quickly requiring you to book as much as a couple months
ahead of time, but at the very least the day before – do some research to see
how much lead time you will need at the time you want to go). Waynapicchu only allows two groups of trekkers
per day, a max. of 200 people per group, a total of 400 per day. Once you enter Waynapicchu, you will need to
show your passport to trek the mountain and they will have you log into a book
that states your name, date and time you entered the mountain. When you exit you will sign out the time you
exited the mountain. This is the way
they keep track of all the trekkers and know if anyone is missing. You can take as long as you want to trek up
and down it once you enter it, but they don’t allow you to stay the night on
the mountain (some people have apparently tried to camp out up there before),
8)
A train ticket from Aguas Calientes back to a
stop near Cusco (then you will need to get a taxi from there to your hotel).
SIDE NOTE: You cannot bring a full size suitcase
with you on the train nor on the bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu so it’s
recommended that you bring a day pack (Ie- small backpack) which you can store
a days’ worth of toiletries and clothing in and leave the rest of your luggage
stored at your hotel/hostel which you will return to in Cusco after your 2-day
tour.
I got all of the 8 items above for $340 and the best part
was I didn’t have to deal with trying to book all these thing differently. I’m guessing that if you take your time and
research all of the above you might be able to shave off about $50-125 from the
total cost, but if you, like me, believe that “time is money”, I say book it at
the airport and don’t stress over it before that. They will be able to check the availability
for tickets to top of Waynapicchu at that time and will give you all your
tickets before you walk away. Just make
sure they review with you, step by step, each part of your tour and
transportation, so you know you have all the tickets you will need ahead of
time (and get the name and phone number of the person you paid for your package
so you can call them in case there are any small issues along the way – I was
missing my pass to enter the Sacred Valley and when I called the lady who sold
me the package, she told me she would give the money to the taxi driver who
would pick me up once I got off the train and was on my way back to my hotel in
Cusco, so I paid for it and was reimbursed).
BONUS: If you can give yourself an extra day in
Aguas Calientes and/or start your Machu Pichhu/Waynapicchu trek at 6am in the
morning and leave yourself at least 4-5 hours before you have to get on the
train going back to Cusco, then you should definitely take the time to check
out the “Aguas Calientes” (not just the name of the city, but literally the
name is a location within the city which is where you will find some amazing
“hot springs”). I truly wish I had left
enough time to go the hot springs as I heard they are amazing. Oh well, maybe next time.
List of Pictures
Here is a list of the pictures of the pictures I had uploaded
on Flickr for you to view through the attached link (see below list for link):
1)
Baby alpaca sweater (with lady who made it and
her baby),
2)
Lady with full grown alpacas,
3)
Me and one of the alpacas with the lady,
4)
Coca candy,
5)
View of Sacred Valley,
Pisaq:
6)
Pisaq surrounding terraces (3 pictures of view),
7)
Our tour guide,
8)
Stairs between terrace levels
9)
Sign – don’t climb over the walls (do people
actually do this?),
10)
View of terraces and gorgeous mountains,
11)
Me and the view,
12)
Inca house remains,
13)
Me and the view,
Urubamba:
14)
Lunch,
15)
The restaurant I ate at (the food was good, but
not spectacular),
16)
The restaurant sign,
17)
A passing Tuk Tuk,
18)
Terrace steps (we hiked up these),
19)
View of the mountain with the Inca face on top
of it,
20)
View of the valley and homes (2 pictures),
Ollantaytambo:
21)
Me, Cynthia and Nataly,
22)
House structures,
23)
Natural fountain,
24)
Me and the view,
Walking to the train:
25)
Stores on the side of the road,
26)
People sitting on the side of the road and
playing music,
27)
Small side road,
28)
River by the road,
29)
Peru Rail advertisement (2 pictures),
30)
Train station,
31)
Trains,
32)
My Peru Rail ticket,
33)
My name (some man was holding a sign with my
name on it, though clearly it was another Lucy), and
34)
The stores by the train stop.
Link
to view the pictures I’ve described above:http://flic.kr/s/aHsjUXQVCF
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