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It was getting colder, the longer we stayed, as we're heading into winter and it's 3500m up at the campground! So when we booked two tours, it meant walking down into Cusco to get picked up at 4-30 am, in the dark and freezing cold!
The first tour was to Laguna Humantay where we walked past lots of rubbish on the streets that had been put out to be picked up but was being ripped apart by all the dogs! Horrible! Then, the street where we were supposed to be picked up, was blocked off. The result was that we had to try and contact them and ended up getting picked up 30 minutes later than planned.
The minibus was full and we were the only ones wearing masks. Oh boy! After a two hour drive, we stopped for a buffet breakfast where I had to explain the mandy system for the toilets which don't flush! The food was okay though and then we drove another hour to the start of the trek.
We set off at 9-05 am and were with a large number of other groups. It took us 2 hours to walk up to the Laguna Humantay along dusty paths that we shared with stinky donkeys. It was quite steep at the end and there were at least 600 people at the laguna. Mass tourism!
Kirsten and I did an extra climb to get better photos above the laguna which was a lovely glacial blue colour and the colours came out better when you are higher, above the lake.
Laguna Humantay - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
After a 15 minute talk by our guide Maribel, we took our time walking back down, and were far more alone so we could enjoy it better. We got back into our minibus at around 1-30 pm for the 1 hour drive back to our lunch buffet restaurant and then got stuck in roadworks on the return to Cusco.
There were at least 50 minibuses going back to Cusco so it was 6-45 pm by the time we got back. All the taxis wanted too much to drive us back to the campground so we walked. Well that certainly warmed us up!
Three days later we went on our second tour to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We didn't have to get up until 5-40 am and we walked down to the square where we were met by our guide.
This tour was jam packed with highlights. We drove for 40 minutes through thick fog to get to the first stop, Chinchero, which is the centre of weaving in Peru and where we got a demonstration before visiting the ancient Inca ruin.
Afterwards we visited the circular terraces at Moray that were used by the Incas for agricultural experiments. Then we were impressed by the beautiful salt flats of Maras. Our next stop was Ollantaytambo - another ancient Inca temple and fortress. And finally Pisac - a UNESCO World Heritage Site with spectacular terraces.
We really enjoyed the tour and were glad we hadn't tried to drive all of this. It was far more relaxed being on a tour and the buffet lunch was even better than on the first tour. Well worth the $45 US each.
