We were very surprised by all the cool things to do around Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley. While Machu Picchu is definitely the most recognizable sight in the area there are plenty of other ruins, some neat natural sights, and some cool agricultural/mining features. It’s really easy to get around and we found the prices very reasonable. All-in-all we’d love to go back!
Machu Picchu doesn’t really need any explanation, it’s Machu Picchu and it was amazing. We showed up early in the morning and caught one of the last buses out of park; we thoroughly enjoyed our day at the ruins. After Machu Picchu we wanted to check out some additional ruins and sights so we attempted to hire a driver. Unfortunately, that driver flaked out and we had to go find a different driver. Luckily, we found an awesome driver named Walter. As we set off, Walter asked if we had tickets to the places we wanted to see. We told him ‘no’ and to make matters worse we didn’t have any Peruvian Sols and needed to convert some money. Walter seemed very surprised: “No tickets?!? No Sols!??” Walter stopped the car and sat thinking about what to do. Every so often he’d ask again, “Tickets? Sols?” and we’d just respond “no”. After a bit, he started telling us the plan but since we don’t speak Spanish and he didn’t really speak English it sounded like he was going to sneak us into one park, lend us 10 Sols for the admission to another park, and then go to a currency exchange office. We figured we didn’t have much to lose so we agreed. Turns out, that’s exactly what happened. Walter was a great driver and we had a lot of fun with him. We ended up using him to take a scenic route to the airport the next day and once again he made sure to bring us by all the important sights. We’re lucky we ended up finding Walter as it made our time much more enjoyable!
Jacquelyn ended up getting influenza after we landed in Lima so we enjoyed the inside of our flat we rented. Maybe next time we’ll explore the city :).
Enjoy the photos!
Chris W.
