Museum Hopper

We headed to the Museo de Arte Precolombino (MAP) in Cusco after dinner one night.  Oh, what a joy!  We had seen the Museo Incan earlier that day.  The MAP was a breath of fresh air. The MAP is organized and coordinated by the Museo Larco in Lima as well.  It's pedigree shows. The museum is organized with very well edited rooms.  The museum is in an old Spanish style with a courtyard inside.   If we had planned better, we would have eaten dinner here as well.  They have a glassed in restaurant, which had a very cool atmosphere and feeling. Each room was themed and so well edited.  It was open late and night and we were almost the only ones in there.   We could tell that what we were seeing in the museum was truly the best of the collection.  The descriptions were very helpful and the right.   I wish I had a little bit more to say, but hopefully the pictures speak for themselves!  I would...

Jason planned a trip for us to ride a horse to see  Sacsayhuaman and a few of the other Incan ruins near by. We got picked up from the hotel and drove about 20 minutes to get on our horses! The real draw to Sacsayhuaman are the impeccably carved stones at the monument.  Stones makes you think about 0.5 pounds small rocks.  These are boulders, bedrock if you will. Famous five point stone Serpent section of wall The panther paw The wall is beautiful and massive. This was another ruin that you can use the pass at.  This is really the easiest ruin to visit.  Very close to Cusco and an easy drive.  You just walk right in! Times visited: 1 Time at site: 1.5 hrs Overall: A-

On our way from our hotel in the Sacred Valley to the hotel in Cusco, we stopped at the Pisac .  Outside of Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman, I do believe that Pisac is the next most important ruin to visit.  We decided to drive to the top of it and then work our way through the top portion of the ruins.  The ruins are about a 15 minute drive outside of the market (which we had not realized).   Pisac is part of the Cusco ticket, so we were able to use that for entrance.  Jason made sure that we got the walking map this time!  Unfortunately, one of the main routes was closed, so we were unable to do the full "medium" length route. Our hike wasn't that far, but it definitely is important to continue to consider the altitude.  Pisac is higher than Machu Picchu although not quite as high as Cusco. We really enjoyed walking/hiking through this monument.  The Incans had many different uses for the ruins.  The first area...

Phew.  Got the biggest post, Machu Picchu , out of the way.  Hopefully the rest of these will be a little more fast and furious!   We went to the Museo Inka after a busy day of sightseeing.  It was right off the square, so we figured we would jump in before it closed.   The building was beautiful.  It was built around an old traditional Spanish courtyard with about three stories.  The museum is wrapped around the museum.  It was nice and cool due to tall ceilings.   The museum was quite comprehensive, but unfortunately did not seem like it had been updated for a number of decades.  It did step you chronologically through the progression of the Incas throughout the entire territory.  Having already visited Machu Picchu and reading Turn Left at Machu Picchu , this museum covered a lot of details that were covered in those two visited. We were not super impressed with this stop, but it was convenient and re-iter...

It's hard to know where to even start with Machu Picchu .  My sister lives in Lima, Peru, so it was definitely about time to get to Machu Picchu.   I scoured the web pages and honestly, it seemed difficult to get there for under $350 USD per person.  Perhaps as a visitor I was seeing the tourist prices, but I had a hard time seeing how to do this "on our own" for less.  For example, the ticket to MP is ~$45 USD, the bus ticket up and back from Aguas Calientes was ~$30 USD (x2) each way and the train each way was ~$120 USD (x2).  The bus company has a virtual monopoly and the hike really didn't seem worth it.  It is not a pretty hike, it is fairly steep and there is altitude (although not as high as Cusco). We ended up booking a package through our hotel using their preferred travel agent, Venturia.  Honestly, we were not very impressed with them.  The initial few itineraries only left us two hrs at Machu Picchu.  That seemed ...

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...

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 th...

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).   ...