Scenes from the Sacred Valley and first sightings in Cusco

After a mediocre night's sleep at Mountain View Experience (more context in my previous post), we hit the road headed to Cusco. But of course there were some stops to check out along the way. First was Salineras de Maras (aka, Maras Salt Mines).

If you have an interest in engineering ingenuity you could spend some time learning about the site and marveling at how it has existed and evolved for centuries, pre-dating the Incas. There is a handy set of signs illustrating the process, history, and even the origin story legend of the site (en español), which you can snap pics of to help you remember.

What is pretty amazing about it is the process is still traditional, apparently not too different than what they were doing 400-500 years ago. I snapped a couple of pics, bought a couple packets of salt (which we haven't tried yet, so I can't report on the flavor), and then we headed out.

If you want to learn more about the salt mines there are plenty of articles and videos online. I found this one, for what it's worth. It's on the 'tentative list' of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Our next stop was Moray. Snapped a couple of scenery shots en route. As a city boy I always like a good animals-crossing-the-street pic.

When you reach Moray, the first thing you notice is that it is a visually stunning location, like most of the Inca sites you'll visit in the valley.

Of course there is more to it. I learned that its location and design enabled the Incas to experiment with agricultural techniques that were then applied throughout the valley. The site apparently has numerous microclimates with varying altitudes, temperatures, degrees of exposure to sunlight, etc. Clever. But a bit beyond my intellect, so I won't try to explain it. I'll just share a couple more pics.

From there we headed to Cusco. (Original plan was to also stop through Chinchero, but my colleague was feeling ill effects of the altitude, so we decided it was best to get her to the hotel where she could rest and adjust.)

I snapped a few more scenery shots on the way. From my first visit to Peru in 2006 I rememembered seeing some modest situations out the train window on the way to Machu Picchu. But I did not remember the outskirts of Cusco looking and feeling quite as grim as they appeared during this drive.

I probably should have expected it, though. In the last 20 years I have traveled quite a bit more through LatAm and of course Mexico since then, so these scenes were very similar to what I've become familiar with. But my memories from that Peru trip were all beautiful scenes from Machu Picchu and the coastal views in Lima. Funny how memory works sometimes.

Anyway, after we dropped my colleague off at the hotel the driver and I did a loop of the most significant sites around Cusco: Saqsaywayman, Q'enco, Tambomachay, and Puka Pukara.

Saqsaywaman is the largest and most significant, so if you're thinking of prioritizing your time and can only see one of the four, then this is the easy and right choice. I got a nice overview from my driver / guide before heading in to explore the site. I am also sure it would be worthwhile to have a licensed guide escort you through the site to pick up more detail and context. I spent 30-40 minutes walking around, taking pictures of the site and of the views it provides of the city itself. But I can easily see spending an hour to 90 minutes there if you want to fully take it in.

Next stop was Q'enco

Q'uenco was noteworthy as a location where sacrifices (including humans) to the gods were made. It doesn't take much time to walk through the site, and you're not encouraged to linger. I suppose during high season there can be more people working their way through a small place. And probably some jokers trying to enact some inappropriate scenes on the sacrificial altar. I grabbed a quick pic moving through the cave and then turned my focus to more views of the city.

Tambomachay was next.

To me, this was the least interesting stop of the four. I get that again it is evidence of some amazing engineering and I appreciate the value and symbolism of water in Incan culture. But if you're prioritizing finite time in the area, not sure you need to stop and pass through here. It's a few minutes walking up a slight incline, past some informal souvenir vendors, then wait to take a pic of the fountain. I only had to wait for one dude (and to be fair, it's one of my low key favorite pictures from Cusco), but during high season I imagine there is a line of people wanting to get their shot with the fountain.

Finally, we made our way to Puka Pukara, which served as a security checkpoint between Cusco and the rest of the valley.

To me this was the second most interesting of the 4 stops we made. But again, if you have limited time or just other things you wish to see and do around Cusco, I think you can focus on seeing Saqsaywaman more completely and then save yourself the time of seeing the other three. I did them quite quickly, in about an hour. Most tours would probably allocate even more time, maybe 1.5 - 2 hours to seeing those three. If I were planning my own vacation, given my level of interest in all the Inca sites, I'd spend 60-90 minutes at Saqsaywaman and feel okay skipping the rest. Conversely, if you have the time and interest, it certainly makes sense to visit the group of four, as they all offer something distinct. And your ticket to see Saqsaywaman also includes entrance to the other three.