Ollantaytambo | Blue Lapis Road

AFTERTHOUGHTS, Inca Trail, Peru

We reached Aguas Calientes after a 20 minutes bus ride. As the gateway to Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes is a very touristy town. The Urubamba River and the large boulders reminded us the flood and landslide that closed down the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu for two months from the end of January 2010. When the flood hit a little over half a year before our trip, over 2000 tourists were stranded at Aguas Calientes waiting for evacuation by helicopters. Little trace from the flood remained by the time we set foot at the town at the end of our Inca Trail journey.

We had little to do in the town, and I was not feeling well at the moment with a bit of fever. So we pretty much stayed at the restaurant for the entire afternoon while other members of the tour group went to check out the small market and souvenir shops in Aguas Calientes. We were all exhausted and waiting for the train ride back to Ollantaytambo at 7:45pm.

Two packs of “local” chips bought across the street from the restaurant became our “supper” on the train. The train took us to Ollantaytambo in about two hours. From there, Peru Treks arranged a bus that took us all back to Cusco. By the time we reached Cusco it was almost midnight. We bid farewell to the Peru Trek team and headed back to Ninos Hotel for the night. That concluded our 4-day Inca Trail experience.

The Urubamba River in Aguas Calientes.

Frequent shuttle bus runs to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes.

All businesses in Aguas Calientes depend on tourism of Machu Picchu.

The railway track runs right in the middle of Aguas Calientes’ main street.

We waited at the restaurant arranged by Peru Treks until late afternoon.

I wasn’t feeling well towards the end of the Inca Trail journey, and spent most of the afternoon resting at the restaurant.

Two packs of “local” chips were all we had for dinner after the remarkable Inca Trail journey.

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LIMA
1. Peru Trip 2010
2. Bumpy Arrival, Lima & Arequipa, Peru
AREQUIPA & COLCA CANYON
3. Monasterio de Santa Catalina, Arequipa, Peru
4. Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru
5. Volcanoes and Vicuna, Pampa Canahuas Natural Reserve, Patahuasi, and Patapampa, Peru
6. Yanque, Colca Canyon, Peru
7. Cruz del Condor, Colca Canyon, Peru
8. Farming Terraces, Colca Canyon, Peru
PUNO & TITICACA
9. Road to Titicaca, Colca Canyon to Puno, Peru
10. Afternoon on Taquile Island, Titicaca, Peru
11. Morning on Taquile, Titicaca, Peru
12. Inka Express, Puno to Cusco, Peru
CUSCO & SACRED VALLEY
13. Pisac & Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley, Peru
14. Salinas de Maras, & Moray, Sacred Valley, Peru
15. Lucuma Milkshake & Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru
16. Saksaywaman, Cusco, Peru
INCA TRAIL
17. KM 82 to Wayllabamba, Inca Trail, Peru
18. Wayllabamba to Pacamayo, Inca Trail, Peru
19. Pacasmayo to Winay Wayna, Inca Trail, Peru
20. Winay Wayna to Machu Picchu, Inca Trail, Peru
21. Machu Piccu, Inca Trail, Peru
22. Machu Picchu in Black and White, Inca Trail, Peru
23. Afterthought, Inca Trail, Peru
LAST DAY IN CUSCO & LIMA
24. Farewell to the Incas, Cusco, Peru
25. Last Day in Peru, Lima, Peru

February 16, 2016 | Categories: Machu Picchu & Inca Trail Hike, Peru, Peru 2010 | Tags: Aguas Calientes, Cusco, Cuszo, Inca, Machu Picchu, Machupicchu Pueblo, Ollantaytambo, Peru, Sacred Valley, Trail, Urubamba | Leave a comment

SALINAS DE MARAS & MORAY, Sacred Valley, Peru

After Ollantaytambo, we headed back to Urubamba, the largest town in the Sacred Valley. At Urubamba, we hired a taxi for the Salinas de Maras (Salt Pans of Maras) and Moray, the archaeological site Inca terraces. The drive to the remote Salinas de Maras was full of breathtaking views of the Urupampa Mountain Range at the opposite side of the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley), including Mountain Ch’iqun at about 5,530m above sea level.

Salinas de Maras is a salt mine of roughly 3000 small pools along the hillside of a mountain. Each pool yields about 150 kg of salt per month. The pools are fed by a hotspring with a high concentration of sodium. As the water evaporates, crystallized salts are left behind for harvest. This salt mine has been in operation since the ancient times. Little has changed for the past hundreds of years.

After Salinas de Maras, our taxi driver drove us to the nearby Moray site, an Inca ruins of remarkable circular terraces. The purpose of Moray was unknown, but most archaeologists believe that the circular terraces of Moray were once an Inca outdoor testing lab for agricultural experiments to study the effects of different micro-climates and soil conditions on crops.

We stayed at Moray for a short while, but didn’t have enough time to venture down to the bottom. We lingered at the top of Moray ruins and the nearby area to take in the magnificent scenery of Urupampa Mountain Range until the sun began to set. Standing at over 3500m elevation, many peaks stood in front of us across the Sacred Valley on the Urupampa Mountain Range were over 5000m above sea level. We were grateful for ending our day of the Sacred Valley with such a peaceful scenery, a moment of cool breezes, fast moving clouds, fading sunlight, and majestic Urupampa Mountains.

We returned to Urubamba for the return bus ride back to Cusco. Upon arrival, we were all hungry and tired. We decided to treat ourselves a delicious dinner at one of the most well known tapas restaurants in the city, the Cicciolina. Under the atmospheric setting of Cicciolina, we had one of the best meal of our entire trip. This was the place where we took the courage to try a “cuy” dish (guinea pigs). On the Andes, guinea pigs have long been a source of meat since ancient times.

On the road to Salinas de Maras with Mountain Ch’iqun as the backdrop.

Our taxi is approaching the salt mine, Salinas de Maras.

The scene of a myriad of salt pools at Salinas de Maras was quite stunning.

Staff could be seen working at the salt pools at Salinas de Maras.

A water channel that diverts the salty water into the pools.

The water channel that feeds the different salt pools.

A water channel that diverts the salt water into the pools.

Shadow of the mountain was cast onto the pools.

The Salinas de Maras with the Sacred Valley in the distant.

The various shades of earthy colours of the salt pools at Salinas de Maras.

As the water evaporates, crystallized salts are left behind for harvest.

Moray, an Inca ruins near the village of Maras, was an ancient outdoor testing grounds for agriculture.

As evening approached, we had no choice but to embark on our return journey to Urubamba.

We were at the elevation of over 3500m, embraced by mountainous scenery including the Urupampa Mountain Range across the valley. As evening approached, we bidded farewell to the breathtaking scenery of Mountain Ch’iqun and the Urupampa Mountain Range and headed back to Cusco.

Back to Cusco, we headed to the guidebook-recommended Cicciolina Tapas Restaurant to end our long day with an exciting meal.

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January 25, 2016 | Categories: Cusco and Sacred Valley, Peru, Peru 2010 | Tags: Andean, Andes, archaeology, Ch'iqun, Cusco, Cuzco, Inca, Maras, Moray, mountains, Ollantaytambo, Peru, ruins, Sacred Valley, Salinas, salt, South America, Travel, Urubamba, Urupampa | Leave a comment

PISAC & OLLANTAYTAMBO, Sacred Valley, Peru

To many, the lost city of Machu Picchu and the Inca capital of Cusco represent the biggest tourist highlights of Peru. Arriving in the Urubamba Valley (or Sacred Valley of the Incas) where Machu Picchu, Cusco and several other famous Inca sites are located felt like we were entering the heartland of the Inca Empire. We spent our first full day in Cusco exploring the nearby Inca sites in the Urubamba Valley. From Cusco, we took a regional bus to the town of Pisac. Pisac serves as the gateway of the valley from Cusco. Our primary destination in Pisac was the Inca ruins on the hilltop. From the bus drop-off, we hired a taxi to take us to the hilltop. The taxi ride took about 20 minutes.

At the hilltop where the ruins sat, we could truly admire the Inca’s fabulous agricultural terraces. Set against the mountainous backdrop, the agricultural terraces dominated the steep hillsides. Top of the terraces lie a series of ceremonial platforms, temple and citadel overlooking the valley.

After the visit to Pisac, we hopped onto a minibus to Urubamba, and from Urubamba, we took a collective van up to the village of Ollantaytambo, the starting point of the famous Inca Trail and home of another famous Inca ruins. At the main square of Ollantaytambo, we went to the Hearts Cafe for lunch. Hearts Cafe was another charity establishment, this time, by an English woman and her NGO Living Heart, which engaged in a number of children and community projects in the Sacred Valley.

After lunch, we climbed the steep steps to the top of the Inca ruins, the Terraces of Pumatallis which offered a spectacular view of the village of Ollantaytambo. In addition to religious purposes, the massive Terraces of Pumatallis also served as a fortress during the resistance against the Spanish conquest.

After Ollantaytambo, we continued our visit of the Sacred Valley. We took a local bus and returned to Urubamba, from where we hired a taxi for the Salinas salt pans and the Inca terraces of Moray.

Early morning at Ninos Hotel, a charity establishment founded by a Dutch woman in 1996 to help the street children in Cusco.

Our quadruple room Carolyn, named after one of the street children at Ninos Hotel, was located on the upper level.

Agricultural terraces dominate the hillside of the mountain where the Inca ruins sat in Pisac.

There were footpaths connecting to other parts of the ruins and Inca terraces in Pisac.

Inca ruins in Pisac lie atop the agricultural terraces.

This gateway at Pisac presented a fine example of the mortar-free stone masonry perfectly fit together with hand tools, a common construction feature in many Inca structures.