Peru Complete Travel Guide
Cusco is the main hub to visit not only Machu Picchu, but also the many other scenic areas. The absolute top sights on the Cusco itinerary are:
Sacred Valley
Visiting Sacred Valley can be done by a tour. What I personally suggest is renting a motorcycle or moped to explore this area. It’s not too far from Cusco and it gives you more freedom during the exploration.
Pisac Archeological Park: this was my first stop. An entrance fee of 70 soles for circuit III gives access to Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero and Moray for two days. For my journey I only used it for Pisac and Moray. The archeological remains are from the Inka era and include the terraces.
Moray: part of my ticket included Moray, thus my next stop. If you ask me it looks like some alien circles, but it’s another Inka archeological site with the circular terraces.
Salt mines of Maras: I was actually advised to not visit the place. You can only see the salt mines from a platform, that’s it! I guess I was lucky to arrive here around 4 PM, with a lovely sunset hitting the salt mines and only few tourists left. It made it all the better.
Humantay Lake
Humantay Lake is at an altitude of 4200 metres. To actually see the lake, a steep climb of approximately 1.5 hours from the parking lot must be made. For the weak, there are also horses that will take you to the top. I wanted to climb by myself, but it sure wasn’t easy. Every few steps I needed a break to catch my breath. A high altitude and heavy exertion are an interesting mix for sure!
Rainbow Mountain and the Red Valley
Didn’t go high enough yet? Nope! Now it was the time to reach the altitude of 5200 metres, the same as the mount Everest base camp. Most tours only take people to Rainbow Mountain. Unknowingly I was part of the only minivan taking a different route, first to the Red Valley and from there we walked to Rainbow Mountain and back. From the parking lot we could either walk the rest to the Red Valley, take an ATV for 150 soles, or ride at the back of a motorcycle for 80 soles.
I absolutely loved that we had the place completely to ourselves at the Red Valley and the trail towards Rainbow Mountain. Which made the Red Valley part all the more interesting. Once we reached Rainbow Mountain, we suddenly shared the mountain with 300 other tourists. For me that degrades the experience.
With the high altitude I made sure to walk at a slow and steady pace, as the oxygen level is about half than what I’m used to at sea level.
Rainbow mountain
Red Valley
Riding the ATV through Red Valley
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