Cusco, Lares Trek & Machu Picchu (Week 14)

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We caught the overnight bus to Cusco from Arequipa, gaining another 1000 m of altitude in the process. The city was really nice, with old colonial buildings and cobble stone streets. The main square Plaza de Armas is particularly well preserved. The main issue with Cusco is that it seemed to primarily revolve around tourism, and so has those problems that come hand in hand with this - you can't walk anywhere without people trying to sell you things, whether it be massages, tours, 'alpaca' clothing or drugs. Our hostel was a small, quiet place near the San Pedro market and a little away from this main area, which was quite nice. We arrived about 5 days before the start of our Machu Picchu trek so that we had enough time to acclimatise to the altitude. It also helped that we had spent some time at Arequipa rather than coming straight from sea level to Cusco. We spent the time checking out the nearby sacred valley, riding horses to the nearby ruins, eating ceviche and drinking coffee in the Coffee Museum.

We had missed out on doing the famous Inca Trail because you need to book it 6 months in advance! While initially disappointed, in the end we were happy to end up doing one of the alternate treks - The Lares trek. Apparently the Inca Trail can be quite crowded and more expensive as well! During our trek in the Lares Valley we only saw one other group of people headed the other way. The Lares Trek goes to the highest altitude, but isn't as long as the other popular alternate trek, the Salkantay.

We started the first day at the bottom of the valley and were promised a "simple" breakfast, which turned out to be an enormous spread including porridge, fruit salad and pancakes, arrayed on a fully set up table, including a table cloth! The was our first taste of the food we would be enjoying over the next few dats. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all 3 course meals set up in our own private dining tent. There was always was too much food! The porters wold pack everything up after we left then run past us, carrying everything, while we struggled with our small day packs, and then have everything set up for us by the time we got to the next camp. Needless to say, we gave them a big tip at the end!

The scenery was more spectacular and more enjoyable because you really felt you'd earned it after hours of hiking uphill. The first part of the hike was all uphill to the highest point, followed by the descent into the Lares Valley along a path winding through llama herds and high-altitude lagoons, with giant mountains looming over us all the way. Truly and incredible experience. At the end of the second day, we camped at some hot springs in the Lares Valley. It was so amazing to soak our sore muscles after the hike. We were then driven to catch the train to Aguas Caliente - the town at the base of Machu Picchu. The train had windows on the roof as well so we could admire the view of the peaks on either side of the track.

That night we enjoyed a few Pisco Sours in town and ate dinner with our group before getting a well deserved rest in our private hotel room (with adjoining bathroom - what luxury!). The next day we got up bright and early to go to Machu Picchu. We went on a our through the main city which was incredible - the place is huge, and actually lived up to the hype! Unfortunately it was also super crowded. Apparently there are talks of restricting or prohibiting access to the city itself because the volume of visitors is starting to cause the ruins to sink. We also climbed up Wayna Picchu, which is another mountain close by with amazing views of the city. After a few hours exploring the city, we caught the train and bus back to Cusco.

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