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Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley

Once again I find myself lagging in the blog department, but will again blame it on the fact that uploading pictures here can sometimes be a one to two hour affair. In any case, I arrived in Lima, Peru after a 27 hour bus ride from Ecuador, and flew to Cusco the next morning (thankfully only a 50 minute flight). I survived the drastic altitude change with the help of some coca tea from my hotel (yes, cocaine leaves, but they just help with headaches).

Cusco, former capital of the Inca empire, is a beautiful city. These days there’s a lot of colonial architecture from conquistador times, but almost everything seems to have a foundation of some Inca temple or important building. Here’s the main plaza by day:

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And by night:
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The Cusco environs are composed of all kinds of amazing ruins in an area known as the Sacred Valley. Pisac was one of the cooler among those that I saw:
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But the crown jewel of the area is of course world famous Machu Picchu, which is about 4 hours away from Cusco. After a train ride from Cusco to the town of Aguas Calientes at Machu Picchu’s base, and a harrowing 5am bus ride the next morning (two way dirt road with only one lane), I arrived at the site:
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No trip to Machu Picchu is complete without an exhausting hour’s hike up to the Wayna Picchu (wanna pic-cha?) peak for the aerial view of Machu Picchu. Supposedly it is in the shape of a condor, which was considered a God by the Incas:

Cusco4

The real question is, what happened to all the Inca gold and treasures that the Spanish never found (not to mention that they never found Machu Picchu, some American guy did in the 20th century). My guide suggested that they were being kept safe in the jungle, by a tribe that has never seen the white man. We may never know.

Soon to come…Lake Titicaca, food poisoning, and more….



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One response to “Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley”

  1. Kamy says:

    Allillanchu?! Yusulpayki for your most recent update from the Andes. How’s your Quechua? Have you tried any chicha?Your jungle travels look SO FUN.We miss you at the office and wish you all the best in your continued travels. Please continue to have amazing adventures so that I may continue to vicariously experience them.Take care,-Kamy

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