Sightseeing around Cusco

Not only is Cusco a lovely, picturesque colonial city, but it's surrounded by archaelogical sights and interesting villages.  We have tried to take full advantage of our two weeks here to make afternoon excursions and to travel further into the Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley) on the weekends.

Fortunately, it's extremely easy to get around.  In town, taxis cost 4-5 soles (1-2 dollars).  With minimal haggling, we can get a decent price to reach places just out of town.  And to get to more distant places, we have taken local buses or vans.  Our Spanish teachers have told us where to go for each destination.  Various street corners in Cusco are devoted to getting folks to and from neighboring towns.  It costs 10-15 soles (3-5 dollars) per person and they basically load up vans and the occasional SUV as passengers show up.  The roads in the Sacred Valley are very good, and compared to Ecuador where personal car ownership has skyrocketed, there is virtually no traffic.

One afternoon, we visited the Incan ruins closest to Cusco.  Two of them, Tambomachay and Pukupukara, are clustered near each other furthest from town.  We took a taxi there and spent a good hour exploring.  We had the place mostly to ourselves, and even though the weather threatened rain, we lucked out and got some sun.

It was pretty exhausting walking at about 12,000 feet!

We then took a local bus down the hill to Q'enqo and the big site everyone knows, Saksayhuaman.  English speakers delight in making jokes about visiting "sexy woman," but Saksayhuaman actually is Quechua for "place full of eagles," an illusion to the time it was littered with dead bodies and birds of prey.  We hired a local guide to show us around both sites.  In Q'enqo, he showed us the cave where Incan leaders were mummified and explained that the priests used to sacrifice a llama every year and watch its blood run between the stones.  The direction the blood flowed would forecast whether it'd be a good or bad harvest.  

Oscar in a tight spot at Q'enqo

In Saksayhuaman, our guide first took us through a tunnel (used by the Incans to escape), so that emerging into the big temple area was a delightful surprise.  We marveled at the enormous stones set so precisely to form a wall.  The Incans covered the stones with gold and they used to celebrate the summer solstice there with all of the important mummies in attendance.  Inti Raymi is still held here every year, on June 24th.  We ended our visit with a walk downhill to Cusco's San Blas neighborhood, and then home.

Neil at Saksayhuaman

Last Saturday, we went further afield into the Sacred Valley to visit the ruins at Pisac.  First, we checked out the weekday version of the artisanal market.  Oscar got an alpaca sweater, helpful for the chilly mornings and nights here.  After a quick lunch of empanadas next to a Barbie townhouse-type lodging for cuyes (guinea pigs), we started our hike uphill.

Not a bad way to live until you become lunch

The main complex at Pisac

Yo and Ruby

Pisac is a large Incan site spread out across a mountain top.  We were short on water and the sun was beating down, but we persevered and made it straight up to the closest fortress in about 2 hours. Luckily, an old lady was descending and she sold us some bottles of water.  We also learned that the main part of the ruin was only 20 minutes above us so we clambered up there and enjoyed the view. Even though it was a Saturday, we again had the place to ourselves, so we took our time looking around.

Looking down on the family resting in the ruins

The walk down took about an hour, and with trembling legs we stopped for a well-deserved dessert break at a gringo cafe.  Pisac itself is small, clean, and filled with gringos interested in holistic practices. Apparently, it fills up a lot on Sundays for its famed market.

On Sunday, we started the day with a bus trip to Chinchero, an authentic Andean town about an hour away that hosts a large weekly market.  We were told the market is less touristy than Pisac's and it certainly seemed that way to us.  As soon as we got off the bus, we ran into a parade.  People were dressed in traditional clothing adorned with a mix of Christian and Andean iconography.  There was music, dancing, praying, and all around chaos.

A religious parade in Chinchero

Parade spectators

The market contained a middle section for fruits and vegetables, and perimeter of textiles, ceramics, blankets, sweaters, scarves and other touristy items.  One side of it had cobblers and stalls selling sandals made out of tires.  Oscar bought an antique silver Peruvian coin from 1871, and we checked out some pretty cool Incan weapons sold by an old guy who spoke Quechua and no Spanish.  We hope to return to Chinchero this Sunday on our way to Machu Picchu.  The rugs look so tempting, but we need to find a way to get them home!  Also, we want to look around the town a bit more.

A controversial plan is afoot to build an international airport in Chinchero.  Our taxi driver told us the town is evenly split on the issue.  Folks we've talked to in Cusco scoff at the idea of the airport ever becoming a reality.  It would certainly transform the Sacred Valley and would draw business away from Cusco and even Lima, as Chinchero's airport would be called Machu Picchu airport.

Chinchero Sunday market

Local ladies selling local snacks

In Chinchero, we hired a taxi to take us to the other sites nearby -- Moray, a ruin containing four large terraced rings supposedly used by the Incans for agricultural experiments, and Salineras, a salt flat dating from Incan times that is still in use.  We had wanted to hike between sites that day but just walking around them in the sun was exhausting.  It was hard to get up Monday morning!

Road to Moray from Chinchero

Some people say the Incans built Moray to test crops, others say this is drainage for underground caverns

Neil and Ruby at the salt flat