Hostal Chaquillchaka Cusco

... up from your hotel in order to start a guided tour to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our guide will explain you about all the archaeological sites history during the trip; you will visit the ruins of Pisac and the Indian market of the same name. After lunch, (this lunch is not included), you will visit the archaeological site of Ollantaytambo and finally visit the incredible Inca ruins of Chinchero. You will be back in Cusco at around 7:00p.m ...

... subjugue par ces petites villages au milieu de nulle part, en terre cuite, par les villages entiers qui a coup de beches retourne leur lopin de terre et ceci des le plus jeune age... voila les andes telle quon en revait...
malheureusemnt ns arrivons a cusco sous un torrent de pluie, et cest plutot impressionnant, leau devale les rues pavees a un debit assez important...
prions pour que demain il fasse meilleur et surtt les jours suivants ou ns envisageons de fre in trek

... to do some trekking, and to visit Machu Picchu of course. Unfortunately it was Sunday and everywhere was closed so we had to settle for having a look round though the place was very nice, great old buildings and a nice vibe, if a bit OTT with street vendors and restaurants fighting for our money.
The next morning we had a chat with the tour place at th hostel and decided to wing it and try out their Salkantay trek which would save us about $500 and include a full day at Machu Picchu at ...

... around the other to keep her warm. Visiting such places is good for the soul, it is cleansing and I knew at that time it was just the medicine I needed.

The final part of this day was natures own gift to us all, we were treated to a lightening storm, this was awesome, moving and a perfect end to the day. Watching the flashes in the sky, lighting up the mountains and creating patterns out of the scattered clouds was memorable and a most fitting way to say good night.

... around the town (which is very hilly) in an effort to acclimatize to the altitude before head onto the Sacred Valley.

I am please to say we have an excellent travel group with the Canadians balanced out nicely by a large contingent of Kiwis. They are great fun, so I expect to get into a great deal of trouble with them!

Other highlights from toda˙ - we went down to the market to see some of the local produce ...

... down into the jungle floor along the Uruibumba rver valley. The road we took was steep and windy and dropped over 2000meters over 3 hours. On the second day it was a steep and bug infested hike along original Inca trails and on cliffs edges. The third day we hiked the steepest route up a mountain I have ever taken. We did it on our own time on my urging and it was sketchy. one part included a 100ft ladder made out of ...

... left with us had the same itineraries, left at the same times and used the same camp and lunch times. This made the trek quite crowded a times.

Anyway, it was a fantastic trek, our guide was quite eager on telling us all about the Inka and Quechua culture which was fantastic. The first day we walked for about 6 hours, but it wasn't that strenous because most parts were quite flat. Our first night campsite however was freezing due to a very cold wind and even ...

... up extremely high in the sky (probably double the altitude or more it usually flies at) and then take a nose dive to the ground – YIKES! Our tour guide called this their "natural way of dying;" I call that suicide.

Although it was an extremely long trip, with a lot of time on the bus, it was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy the pics (I think I made up for the dearth of them over the past week or two J).

... or fruit
Lunches (the last day lunch is not included) Lunch includes:

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  soup
  
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  seconds (spaghetti or rice with veggies and meat)
  
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  tea or coffee

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  soup
  
• 
  seconds (fish or chicken accompanied by potatoes or vegetables)
  
• 
  tea or coffee
  http://www.pumasadventures.net/

... and a couple of friendly locals waving to us. The beauty of the snow-peaked Salkantay mountain flanked by lower mountains greeted us as we turned a corner. The beauty of the mountains just took my breath away. We were very close to Soraypampa – the highest and coldest campsite of the trek when we were stopped by one of the porters that arrived with the horses before us, that we were going to camp overnight just before the actual camp as ...