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  • Day 344

    Cusco

    April 15, 2018 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Before heading to Machu Pichu, we spent 5 days in beautiful Cusco walking through the very narrow, hilly streets, acclimating to the altitude (11,000 feet) and picking up tickets for our trip to Machu Pichu.
    One of our days we hired a guide and driver to take us on a tour of the Sacred Valley. We visited the impressive Inkan ruins at Ollaytaytambo and Pisac and the colonial church of Chinchero. What a great introduction to the incredible architecture of the Inkas (and the terrible plundering of the Spanish). We also stopped at Pisac’s market and tried chicha – the local corn beer – from a roadside stall.
    Another day we took a taxi up to the nearby Inkan ruins of Saqsaywaman. It was an incredibly impressive site with massive stone walls and many interesting caves and structures – and the bonus of a very cute herd of alpacas wandering the expansive grounds. The ruins are so close to Cusco that we were able to walk back to the city in less than an hour via part of an original Inka trail and some very steep steps (ouch!).
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