"Adventure Travel Around Cusco" a Cusco Travel Page by annie_c

Send Photo to a Friend

Night time in Cusco's Main Square

Cusco

Our 10 day trip to Peru started when we landed in the town of Cusco. This little town was not exactly what we expected, the city square was absolutely spotless and the hotel we stayed at was very modern (well, we did end up staying at the only five star hotel in the city which was still not very expensive.) This town was built on the tourism industry and the locals were usually quite nice (expect for this one four year old kid that decided to give me a punch in the leg when I didn't give him any money!) I felt a little sick during the first day from altitude sickness but was ok by the second day. We took a tour of the city of Cusco on the first day and a tour of the sacred valley on the second day (Highly recommended to get a quick tour of the area.)

Send Photo to a Friend

Rafting and Mountain Biking

We went on a three day rafting trip in the Apurimac River. The trip was actioned packed, starting with the crazy four hour drive along the winding roads of the Andes to our put-in to the river. The three days of rafting was absolutely fantastic, the class IV and V rapids were wild. I felt quite safe with our very experienced guides but for anyone that is even a little bit afraid of the water, I would recommend you skip the body surfing down the class III rapids. The camps we stayed at were very comfortable and the food our guides cooked was excellent (We did our tour with Eric Adventures - Highly recommended.) Unfortuantely, its a little difficult to take pictures with our digital camera but we did get some excellent shots that were taken by our guides.

We had an extra day in Cusco before going on our Inka Trail hike so we decided to go mountain biking in the Sacred Valley. The views on this trip was breathtaking. I'm not a very experienced mountain biker so I skipped the really steep downhill parts (my boyfriend said it was very tough and quite dangerous for anyone that is not experienced.) There was a bus that followed the group which was great since I was able to hop on the bus after getting quite tired after climbing some hills.

Send Photo to a Friend

On the way up to Dead Woman's Pass

Hiking the Inca Trail

The Inca Trail hike is a must for anyone who truly wants to get the full experience of Machu Picchu. You don't really get to feel the magnificance of the ruins unless you take the trail that that Incas did and enter into Machu Picchu through the sun gate after a three day hike. I was a little worried about the trek since I've never done anything quite as long before, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt during the hike up and down the mountains. The tour company we used was excellent (Qente - $290) and we were happy with the food, equipment and guide on our trip. This picture was taken on the second day of our four day trip as we climbed towards Dead Woman's Pass, which is the highest point of the trip. By the time we got to Machu Picchu on the last day, we were quite tired but the whole thing is absolutely amazing. We even climbed the Wayna Picchu which took almost an hour an a half but it was worth it to view Machu Picchu from the other side.