Museum Hopper

After the Maras salt pools, we went to the Moray ruins.   We used the same pass that we bought earlier in the day at Ollanytambo.   So that was easy!   When we were there, the crowds were so small.   As you can see in some of the pictures, we felt like we were the only people there at times.   I wonder if it is busier in “peak” season (more like June-July) than when we were there.   We again took a photo of the map at the front of the ruins to ensure we did not miss anything.   It said that the medium length routes would take over an hour, and it definitely did not, so just take that into consideration.   We wondered if we could have done the longer route.   The use of these ruins has been debated for decades.   Currently, it is believed that they were an agricultural laboratory.   The different rings and circles allowed the Incans to test what plants grew best in what level of sunlight and temperature.   As you walk into the ruins, it gets warmer by about 10-15F de

After Ollantaytambo, we headed to the Moras salt pools. These are about 15 minutes outside of the town of Moras.    I recommend stopping on the way in to really take in the full view.   We paid a nominal fee to get into the pools. All the visible pools are head by a single stream.   As you walk down into the area, you can see the stream on the left hand side.   I recommend reaching down to feel the water and put a little bit to your mouth.   The water was warm – like a lukewarm bath and definitely salty!   The pools are shared by the community.   As people in the community get married, they get a pool.   When we were there, we were at the start of the wet season, so the pools are starting to look a little more brown.   When you are there in the peak of the dry season, the pools really look white as the water evaporates leaving the salt.   There is a little path that wanders through the top of the pools.   It is quite an expansive area feeling pools

After our day at Machu Picchu, we had planned route around the Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado).   We started at the Ollantaytambo Incan ruins.   Ollantaytambo is a lovely Incan town, complete with “original” Incan roads, walls and buildings.   It is considered one of the last places you might want to stay on the way to Macchu Picchu that is truly worth exploring versus just stopping over on the way to MP (like Aguas Calientes).   From what we could tell there was only one way into the city (at least from one side).   These ruins are beautiful built directly into the hills.   We bought a pass that gave us entrance to a number of different ruins and museums throughout the valley and Cusco.   It was slightly more expensive to buy the pass versus entrance to a single monument, but if you are planning on seeing more than one, the pass is worth it.   The pass was good for approximately two weeks (or maybe up to a month).   Everyone (aka most historians) originally th