Phoenix in the City

Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Incas

After spending a couple days in Lima, we left for Cuzco, which may be the "gringo" capital of South America given that it stands at the head of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and it is the starting point from which many begin their trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, including yours truly.

Of the two cities I visited, I liked Cuzco best. Lima was too big and crowded with her 8,000,000 inhabitants - Cuzco seemed far more friendly and quaint - but that's probably because it's so touristy. My bias may also be due to the fact that we spent a couple extra days here after our 4-day hike of the trail - the skies were blue, the temperatures warm and we explored at a leisurely pace, which was a welcome change from having spent the last few days trying to keep up on the trail.

Plaza de Armas with The Cathedral in the background

One of many streets with their smooth, Incan-made walls that remain to this day

We spent part of our first full day visiting Santo Domingo (below), the Catholic church built on the remains of what was once the centre of Inca society,The Golden Palace and Temple of the Sun.

The central courtyard of Santo Domingo

And finally, on our way up to the San Blas district, where you'll find a concentration of little shops that sell local carvings, paintings and ceramics, as well as many affordable restaurants:

Urubamba Valley

The Urubamba River was of great significance to the Incas and this is clear from the many sites they built nearby. Our Gap Adventure truly began here with a tour of the Urubamba Valley. Our bus left Cuzco and drove towards Sacsayhuaman, or, Sexy Woman (below), if you prefer, the ruins of a sanctuary and temple to the sun.

Our next stop was at the village where our porters, or "angels" are from. We stopped to feed the llamas and alpacas and had the chance to buy handmade crafts made in the ancient tradition.

View from the bus

The next scheduled stop was at the ruins of Pisac, which are perched on the mountain 30 km north of Cuzco:

We had lingered too long at Pisac, so by the time we arrived at Ollantaytambo, the sun was just beginning to set so I have few pictures to share... :(

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Update October 25: There was an article in today's Star about the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which is what the Urubamba Valley is also known as, and it covered all the sites in this post and more. Click here for more information if you are so inclined.

The Inca Trail

This is the part of the trip in which I lack photographic evidence - I know it looks like a lot here, but there was so much more to see! I was the slow poke in our group of 7 on this hike. Manny, our guide - bless him! - kept me company as I huffed and puffed along the trail: "Remember, don't compete, just complete!"

We camped for three nights along the trail and there was no electricity so I had to conserve my camera battery for Machu Picchu.

Passage along the Inca Trail is strictly regulated in order to preserve it: A maximum of 500 visitors per day are allowed onto the trail - and this includes porters, who are not permitted to carry more than 25kg. According to Manny, the split is 40% visitors, 60% porters. The porters were truly our "angels" since they carried all our supplies along the trail including the tents and sleeping bags, all the food, the propane tanks to cook with and our baggage. All we had to carry was a day pack with essentials for the hike like water, snacks and camera.

Our hike began at Km 82, Piscacucho at 2600m. It is at this checkpoint where everything the porters carry along the trail is weighed. I must confess that anything beyond getting through the checkpoint is a blur to me. I can't remember if this leg of the trail was particularly steep, or whether it was uphill or downhill. I can tell from the few photos I took that we hiked pass a small ruin and spied the snow-capped Cordillera Vilcabamba, affectionately known as Veronika's Tears, in the distance before settling for the night in Wayllabamba.

Day 2 was my hell day as the trail was mostly uphill to Warmiwanusca, or Dead Woman's Pass at 4200m, the highest point of the hike. Here's the fairly innocuous start:

Yellow Orchids also known as "Dancing Queens" along the trail

...and here's the view from the peak of Dead Woman's Pass:

After the uphill battle that was Day 2, it was pretty much all downhill on Day 3, which I found MUCH easier. I also relaxed a bit and took more pictures - mostly of the flora of which there was plenty, as you'll see, and more ruins: