Hi Globetrotters,
My mom and I went on a day tour when we stayed in Cusco. It was the most convenient thing for us- no need to organize any transportation. We got picked up at a nearby hotel at 7:30 AM since my mom and I stayed at an Airbnb. You can find this tour on Expedia by Lima Tours, titled :
Full-Day Sacred Valley Tour to Awana Kancha, Pisac & Ollantaytambo
It is $41, and it covers lunch, transpirtation and our tour guide. We had to pay an additional 70 soles, whic equates to a little over $20, for admissions into the ruins.
Side note the 2-day ticket we got was good for 4 locations, but we only went into 3. Feel free to save it and ggo to the fourth ruin in your spare time. Apologies, but I forgot the name of the fourth one.
First, we went to Pisac market. It is the bts market I have been to in Peru. It is big, not a lot of people and very open. Then we went to the ruins, which is bigger than Manchu Picchu. This ruin has four sections and I climbed the main one. It is so beautiful up there and you honestly feel on top of the world. The scary part is walking down those steps. They are uneven, rocky and unsafe-no railings. Literally, I was clinging onto the wall.
There was a small stop on the road. Westoppped inside to learn the differences between and alpaca and a llama. There were a a handful there and I got to feed a lot of them. Also, there were a couple of shops, because of course, it is a tourist destination. Wh would we do if there weren’t reasons to shop?
Second stop was Ollantaytambo, which was a resting place for a general on the run. This ruin looked super grand with its large steps. There were only like 3 ways to get up and down. It is another wall-clinger and you’re so high up that you a gasping for air. However, when you reach the top and look over the edge, you see nothing but farmlands.
Then, we went to a really nice buffet. Cearly meant for tourist, because there were A LOT of American options. You will get lucky, though. There was a made-on-the-spot ceviche, alpaca and chicha morada.
Awana Kancha was our last stop, and I think the most informative. This lady showed us how to clean alpaca wool with a natural root, how to dye it with local plants and how to twist it into athread on a spool. We loved it. The only annoying part was the pushiness to buy from their shop after the demonstration.
At the end of the day, we got dropped of at our pickup location. It was around 6 or 7 PM. The description was right; this was an all-day tour. In my opinion, you should take this tour. I thought these ruins were more breathtaking than Manchu Picchu.
Comment the destinations you would like to see in Peru. I promise you have alot of choices.
Ciao,
Amy
amy 