When we were planning our trip to Peru, we did a lot of research about where to go and how long to stay in each place. There is so much to do in Peru, that unless you narrow it down, you can quickly get overwhelmed and miss a lot of great stuff. We decided to spend the majority of our time in Sacred Valley, and it was a fantastic decision. We had plenty of time to see the sites without feeling rushed. It was the perfect pace that allowed it to really feel like a vacation, with plenty of time for tea and pastries--just the way we like to travel.
We spent a day exploring two of the most famous Incan sites in the Sacred Valley--Maras and Moray. The easiest way for us to explore was by hiring a local guide in Ollantaytambo to take us around the sites and then drop us off in Cusco where we were staying that night. Our guide was very friendly and spoke English well.
Our first stop was Moray, which was where the Incan people would conduct agricultural experiments. I had seen pictures of this site before, but the pictures don't do it justice. It's really hard to tell the scale of this place without actually standing there, but the tiers are each several feet high, and in total it is almost 100 feet deep! There's also a temperature variance of as much as 27 degrees F from the surface-level to the deepest tier. What an amazing feat of science to build these perfect tiers and understand the concepts of experimentation. Because of the Incans, Peru today is known for their more than 2,000 varieties of potatoes among many other things!
Each is pond owned by a family in Maras who harvests the salt and sells for income. The size of the pond depends on how big the family is.
We spent a day exploring two of the most famous Incan sites in the Sacred Valley--Maras and Moray. The easiest way for us to explore was by hiring a local guide in Ollantaytambo to take us around the sites and then drop us off in Cusco where we were staying that night. Our guide was very friendly and spoke English well.
Our first stop was Moray, which was where the Incan people would conduct agricultural experiments. I had seen pictures of this site before, but the pictures don't do it justice. It's really hard to tell the scale of this place without actually standing there, but the tiers are each several feet high, and in total it is almost 100 feet deep! There's also a temperature variance of as much as 27 degrees F from the surface-level to the deepest tier. What an amazing feat of science to build these perfect tiers and understand the concepts of experimentation. Because of the Incans, Peru today is known for their more than 2,000 varieties of potatoes among many other things!
The second stop was Maras, which is a salt flat that pre-dates the Incans, and is still used by locals. Here, our guide really shined. He told us the history of these salt flats, explained how they worked, and how each one is allocated to a Maras family.
After a fantastic day out, we headed to Cusco for our first of three nights in Cusco. It was a Friday night, and we heard that there was a vibrant Chabad House in Cusco. Chabads are found around the world and serve as a Jewish center for travelers. Dan and I have been to a few Chabads, including in England, Thailand, and throughout the United States, and we thought it would be nice to have a hot kosher meal. It was lovely!
It's one of the largest and most active Chabad Houses in the world, which makes sense given the number of Israelis who come to visit Machu Picchu each year. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures because it was the sabbath, but there were easily two hundred people there for a Friday night dinner. It was a great test of my Hebrew since the whole dinner was conducted in Hebrew. Thankfully we sat next to a few nice people who all had fascinating travel stories (and spoke English!). It was our first glimpse into the wonderful city of Cusco!
Itinerary
Lima in Two Days
Getting to the Sacred Valley
Machu Picchu
Horseback Riding in the Sacred Valley
Cusco and Pisac
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