Peru is one of my favorite countries. It is full of surprises, from landscapes where the jungle meets the mountains, to the abundance of traditional agriculture practices still being used, to the number of people still speaking the Quechua language rather than Spanish. While studying abroad in Chile, I took a month off from classes to journey through Peru, soon wishing that I had found a study abroad program in Cusco. I traveled from Lima, to Cusco, to the Sacred Valley, through the jungle to Machu Picchu, to Puno, to Lake Titicaca and the islands, to Tacna, and finally ending my journey by crossing the border back into Chile through Arica.
After visiting Cusco, we journeyed into the Sacred Valley. Our first stay was in Urubamba, which is an urban center that is not too touristy and is surrounded by calm countryside and mountains. We stayed at Flying Dog Hostel, which was my favorite hostel that we stayed at in all of Peru.
We left Cusco and took a bus to Urubamba. After we settled into our hostel we took another bus to Salineras de Maras. Salineras de Maras is a salt mine that predates the Incas.
An underground spring fills up thousands of these shallow pools. Once the water evaporates, the salt is harvested. Ownership of these salt mines is reserved only for locals of the Maras area. The locals harvest the salt from their pools and sell the salt to local markets and restaurants.
This is a photo of a yarn piece that I walked by on the road close to Salineras de Maras. I love public art!
After spending some time walking around the salt mines and licking a lot of salt, we decided to hike back to Urubamba. We asked some local folks how to walk back and they pointed to a dirt path and just told us to go down. It was a beautiful hike back into town, and it took us around 1.5 hours. We walked down the mountains, into the valley, through some fields, next to some horse ranches, and across the river.
The next day we headed to Ollantaytambo, which is an extremely cute town. The town is filled with cobblestone roads and earthen buildings. It is a great town to slowly walk around in. It is nestled in a valley between two large ruins.
The food was so good! We had been walking around for a bit looking for a good lunch spot. Since Ollantaytambo is a jumping off point for Machu Picchu, the restaurants are all pretty touristy and we weren't so stoked on the overpriced pizzas and hamburgers that we were seeing on most restaurant menu boards. Instead, we found the local market on a map and headed over. Peruvian markets are amazing, full of fresh fruits and veggies, fermented drinks, and prepared food. We found an old woman selling prepared beans and salad from her large containers and got a plate. We found another woman selling fermented drinks and got a few cups full. Everything was so delicious and healthy and filling!
You can see the ruins from the streets in town.
Ollantaytambo has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century, and you can see Incan architecture and original irrigation channels while walking down the street (Lonely Planet).
The Incans were master rock-workers, making many beautiful and functional buildings with surrounding rocks. You can see some of the ruins in the rock face above.
We strolled through town and then up a road that led us to some fields. Traditional agricultural practices are still used in the Sacred Valley.
