Urubamba | 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

MACHU PICCHU, Inca Trail, Peru

We validated our tickets and got a souvenir stamp onto our passport at the main entrance of Machu Picchu, then our guide Freddie led us into the site once again. We walked past the Terrace of the Ceremonial Rock and sat down at a terrace where Freddie gave us a talk about Machu Picchu. Then Freddie took us to the Temple of the Sun, where former Inca priests observed the sun, performed sacrifice rituals, and stored the royal mummies at the mausoleum.

Lastly, Freddie took us to the Main Temple and then Intiwatana Pyramid, a high point in Machu Picchu where the Incas studied and worshiped the stars. After some last words on the Inca astronomy, Freddie and his assistant Miguel left us to freely wander around the ruins on our own. They left for a restaurant at Aguas Calientes where the space was reserved for Peru Treks. All members of our group, including our friends, dispersed all over Machu Picchu. We decided to take a break at the entrance cafe before climbing up to the guardhouse once again to take a few more photos of Machu Picchu under the sun. At the lookout, there was a few funny looking llamas grazing the lawn. After a few minutes photographing the friendly llamas, we ventured further out for 15 minutes to see the Inca Bridge.

Back to the lookout, we saw another llama standing on a terrace behind a stone wall peeking at the passing tourists. We slowly walked back to the main entrance and hopped on a bus for Aguas Calientes, where our friends, Freddie and the entire group waited for us at the restaurant reserved for Peru Treks.

Main tourist entrance of Machu Picchu.

More tourists arrived as bus loads of people were transported from the train station at Aguas Calientes below Machu Picchu.

Terraces of the Ceremonial Rock and the surrounding mountains.

Tourist in Machu Picchu.

One of Freddie’s sessions explaining the history of the lost city.

Temple of the Sun was built upon a natural rock, with the mausoleum situated underneath.

Mummy vault (royal tomb) at Temple of the Sun

Doorway to Temple of the Sun.

Damage to the stonework of the Main Temple by occasional earthquakes.

The Intihuatana stone on the top of Intiwatana Pyramid.

Terraces on the side of Intiwatana Pyramid.

View towards the Terraces of the Ceremonial Rock.

Llama, Machu Picchu, Una Picchu and Huayna Picchu (mountains behind Machu Picchu).

Urubamba River down at the valley bottom.

The Inca Bridge and part of the original Inca Trail, 15 minutes walk from Machu Picchu.

Curious llama peeking out from the ruins.

Llama in the ruins.

One last classic overview of Machu Picchu before we left the site.

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February 13, 2016 | Categories: Machu Picchu & Inca Trail Hike, Peru, Peru 2010 | Tags: Aguas Calientes, Cusco, Cuzco, Huayna Picchu, Inca, Inca Trail, Intiwatana, llama, Machu Picchu, Peru, sundial, Temple of the Sun, Terraces of Ceremonial Rock, Una Picchu, Urubamba | Leave a comment

PACASMAYO TO WINAY WAYNA, Inca Trail, Peru

After a night of rain, it was cloudy and foggy throughout much of the day while we trekked through the cloud forest. This third day of the Inca Trail saw us went past mountain passes with the highest at 3,950m, passed by several Inca ruins, wandered through the Peruvian cloud forest, and descended 1,000m down to the Winay Wayna campsite at 2,650m. The dramatic difference in altitude allowed us to experience the distinct environment between cloud forest and tropical woodlands. After a day of hiking in the humid forest, where heavy mist lingered around tree canopies, we were delighted to reach Winay Wayna, our last campground before reaching Machu Picchu, in late afternoon. Similar to the previous two days, our guide Freddie was always enthusiastic on explaining the history and legends about everything we saw along the way. That evening, we had another rainy night. The campground at Winay Wayna was fully packed with trekkers. We were told that hot showers (fees required) were available, but we rather waited another day until we arrived back at Cusco for a well-deserved hot shower.

Mountains and mist were the first things to greet us in early morning.

5090437132_21417b7677_o It was cloudy and misty throughout much of the day.

The misty landscape was poetic and picturesque.

One of the first Inca ruins we encountered was tampu Runkuraqay.

At certain moments, the scenery looked more tropical than the Andean highlands.

Qunchamarka was another decent Inca ruin down at the valley.

Sayacmarca (3,600m), another impressive Inca ruin that we actually climbed up for a visit.

Sayacmarca could be translated as “Town in a Steep Place”.

After climbing about 100 narrow and steep steps, we reached the main platform of Sayacmarca. We sat down at one of the terraces in the complex, where our guide Freddie explained to us some brief information about the site.

Similar to Machu Picchu, Sayacmarca was first discovered by the American explorer Hiram Bingham in early 20th century.

The third day also saw us walking on some section of the original Inca Trail.

Ferns, moss and tropical trees were common in the cloud forest.

Misty path in the cloud forest.

5089808991_124f794f1e_o Phuyupatamarca, “Town in the Clouds”, was another prominent Inca ruins along the Inca Trail.

Just as its name suggested, Phuyupatamarca was truly a “Town in the Clouds”.

Winay Wayna (forever young) was the last Inca ruin we visited before reaching the campground.

Overlooking Urubamba River, the ruin and the campground at Winay Wayna (forever young) was impressive and very popular.

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February 12, 2016 | Categories: Machu Picchu & Inca Trail Hike, Peru, Peru 2010 | Tags: cloud forest, Cusco, Cuzco, Hiram Bingham, Inca, Machu Picchu, Peru, Phuyupatamarca, Quechua, Qunchamarka, Runkuraqay, Sayacmarca, Trail, Urubamba, Wiñay Wayna, Winaywayna | Leave a comment

KM 82 TO WAYLLABAMBA, Inca Trail, Peru

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Peru. In order to reduce trail erosion, the government sets limits of 500 trekkers per day and a handful of companies that can provide guiding service. Most people go for the Classic route, starting the trail from Km 82, reaching the highest point at Warmiwanusqa (Dead Woman Pass) on the second day, passing by Andean cloud forests and Inca ruins on the third day, and ending the trek at the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu at sunrise on the fourth day.

At 05:30, a 4×4 from Peru Treks came to our hotel in Cusco to pick us up for our 4-day trek. They took us first to Ollantaytambo for breakfast, and then to the trail-head at Km 82, the starting point of the Inca Trail. At Km 82, we left our rented sleeping bags, mats and warm clothing to the porters. With a small day pack of personal belongings, water, broad brim hat and a pair of hiking poles, we followed our guide Freddie to embark for a full day of challenge. As we departed for the hike, a tourist train ran ahead of us into the valley towards Machu Picchu, taking a train load of tourists (70% of visitors of Machu Picchu) who rather skipped the magnificent Inca Trail to reach the lost city in about three hours (train + shuttle bus).

Our trek started off with an easy hike into the mountains. After some uphill walking, we arrived at the first Inca ruin Patallaqta. It was an Inca settlement for ancient travelers and soldiers located at the intersection between two valleys. Our guide Freddie called this the Valley of the Wind, because of the constant strong wind. An optional climb up a hill gave us a better view of the terraces of Patallaqta. We continued to hike towards our camp site of the first night at Wayllabamba. Along the way, we get glimpses of the Cordillera Urubamba. After about 12km of hiking and a few resting spots where water and gatorade were sold, we arrived at Wayllabamba in mid afternoon. The camp site has a great view to the Cordillera Urubamba.

At Wayllabamba, we were assigned with our tents, one tent for two people. We settled ourselves and took a short break. Our guide Freddie, porters and some local villagers decided to play a game of football (soccer) on an open field. I joined them for the game but retreated after playing for about 30 minutes. It was extremely tiring to exercise on high altitude, no wonder I was the only one from our trekking group willing to join the game. After the game, we went to get water at a nearby village, and passed by a community church as we headed back to our camp. At night, the entire group (16 of us) and the guides had dinner in the dinning tent. The meal was very impressive given we were high up on the mountains. We got to have a good sleep to gear up for the toughest challenge of the Inca Trail, the 1100m climb to Warmiwanusqa (Dead Woman Pass) in the next morning.

Tourist train rushing ahead of us at Km 82.

Beginning of the Classic Inca Trail near Km 82.

The Kusichaka Valley led towards the magnificent ruin of Patallaqta.

The ruin of Patallaqta, at the intersection of Kusichaka River and Willkanuta Rivers.

Patallaqta was once an important Inca settlement in the Sacred Valley.

Snow-capped mountains of Cordillera Urubamba often came to sight.

The community church near our camp site at Wayllabamba.

Our camp site at Wayllabamba.

A nearby settlement from Wayllabamba where we could use the toilets and get water.

The mighty Andean peaks dominate the backdrop of Wayllabamba.

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February 10, 2016 | Categories: Machu Picchu & Inca Trail Hike, Peru, Peru 2010 | Tags: Camino, Cusco, Cusichaca, Cuzco, Huillca, Inca, Inka, Km 82, Kusichaka, Llactapata, Machu, Patallaqta, Peru, Picchu, Raccay, Trail, trek, Urubamba, Wayllabamba, Willkanuta | Leave a comment

LUCUMA MILKSHAKE & PLAZA DE ARMAS, Cusco, Peru

Soon we were back to the Central Cusco, the historical capital of the Inca Empire and the major heartland of tourism in Peru. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage since 1983, both the splendid remnants of the Incas and the dazzling architecture of Colonial Spain captured our imagination ever since we entered the city. Five centuries ago in 1533, Francisco Pizarro arrived in Cusco and sacked the city, converting the marvelous Inca capital into a colonial city with Roman Catholic churches and convents, many of which still remain standing today. With the Sacred Valley and the lost world of Machu Picchu within close proximity to the city, at about 3,400m above sea level Cusco serves as a crucial base for all tourists to acclimatize before trekking the Inca Trail.

Back in Cusco, we decided to try out a glass of fresh juice at Mercado San Pedro. Cusco’s central market was just a short walk from Plaza de Armas. The covered market was quite large, with all kinds of produces, food products, dry goods, cafeteria, and juice stalls. From a juice vendor, we ordered a lucuma drink with milk. Lucuma is a subtropical fruit native to Peru with high level of nutrients. We made one order but the woman ended up giving us three glasses because at San Pedro juice is ordered by jar, not glass. On our way out of the market we also bought a few tangerines.

After San Pedro, we returned to Ninos Hotel for a short break, then we headed over to the Australian owned Los Perros restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was only a stone throw away from the city’s main square, Plaza de Armas. We walked around the square, stopping at some of the most iconic colonial architecture in Cusco, including Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus and Cusco Cathedral and admired the historical fountain at centre and stone arcades around the plaza perimeter.

In mid afternoon, we hopped on a taxi for the hilltop Inca citadel of Saksaywaman.

On our way to Mercado San Pedro on Calle Santa Clara.

Iglesia de San Pedro just outside of Mercado San Pedro.

Fruit vendors at Mercado San Pedro selling all kinds of local fruits.

The vendor preparing our lucuma milkshake.

Tranquil back streets near Hotel Ninos.

Wooden balconies were common sights in Cusco and other Peruvian cities.

Cobble stone street in Cusco.

The Cathedral of Cusco.

Sagrada Familia Church beside the cathedral.

Fountain at the centre of Plaza de Armas.

Fountain at the centre of Plaza de Armas with mountains in the backdrop.

Plaza de Armas of Cusco.

Arcades were common around Plaza de Armas.

Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús by Plaza de Armas.

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January 29, 2016 | Categories: Cusco and Sacred Valley, Peru, Peru 2010 | Tags: Andes, Architecture, colonial, Cusco, Cuzco, Inca, juice, lucuma, Mercado San Pedro, Peru, peruvian, Sacred, UNESCO, Urubamba, valley | 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

Blue Lapis Road ultramarinus – beyond the sea

Posts tagged “Urubamba”

AFTERTHOUGHTS, Inca Trail, Peru

MACHU PICCHU, Inca Trail, Peru

KM 82 TO WAYLLABAMBA, Inca Trail, Peru

LUCUMA MILKSHAKE & PLAZA DE ARMAS, Cusco, Peru

SALINAS DE MARAS & MORAY, Sacred Valley, Peru