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Published: November 23rd 2009
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After arriving back from our Inca Jungle trip we spent the next day having some much needed rest and some good food from Paddy Flahertys. Our final day in Cuzco Deb spent the day in town, going back for the lovely breakfast we had the first day and doing some shopping. I decided to make the most of the expensive 10 day pass so I decided to visit the Inca ruins at Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Most people go by tour groups but I decided I´d give it a go on my own and go side by side with the locals in the local transport. I had a great day and really had a sense of achievement at the end of it. I found my way to the pick up point in Cuzco for the colectivos to Pisac, passing over the mountains you arrive in the Sacred Valley which follows the Urambamba river. Being a Sunday the Pisac market was on and the town very busy, only small but very enticing. I climbed up behind the town to the Inca Citadel high above on the mountain. There was no one around and I had a great view looking down the valley, it
was a steep climb, through the terraces, around the mountain and some very steep staircases. I was starting to feel like an Inca myself and don't know how they managed to climb those paths day in day out. Once at the top was the ceremonial area, it was quite a large complex, it was much busier up here with the tour groups that arrive from the car park, there were some nice irrigation channels and different parts to the city. I came back down a different route where there was a cliff face with many holes where Inca tombs had once been, but since plundered by the grave robbers.
The next bus took me to Urubamba where I changed for Ollantaytambo, the valley itself was very picturesque, the mountains either side had the reddy clay tinge, there were small little villages and plenty of cornfields.
Ollantaytambo is a nice town itself, inhabited by the Incas, but the main thing to see here is the fortress perched on the moutain above. The terracing is very steep and would be almost impossible to attack from below. The ruins are in good condition, but the number of tour groups frightening. I managed to
find a few quiet places to myself before heading back to Cuzco.
I feel I have a good appreciation for the Incas now and their civilisation, I also have a good appreciation of Peruvian beer the Cusceña has become my favourite, but not before dabbling with the Pilsen, Cristal, Trujillo and Arequipeña.
We leave Cuzco very impressed, it more than lived up to our expectations. It is the kind of place you could spend even more time, there are still plenty of things you can do, including whitewater rafting.
One funny thing we did come across in Cuzco was the number of times we were asked if we wanted a massage. It became quite amusing after a while. The other one was that we had to wear our sunglasses whenever the sun was out, if you didn´t sure enough someone would be in your face trying to sell you some, even if it wasn´t that bright we made sure to wear them in daylight hours.
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