Since I’m only here for four months, I’m always trying to plan what my weekend plans will be. There is so many cool things to see and do in the Cusco area and Peru in general. Every class I teach, I learn about a new place I want to go check out.
One of my favorite things I’ve done near Cusco is go to a llama and alpaca farm. One day in Spanish class we were talking about zoos and my Spanish professor asked us if we would like to go to the farm one day for class. We obviously agreed. The first part was a little museum about the history of alpacas and llamas and taught you the different kinds. Then once you went through the museum, you got to see all the different types of llamas and alpacas and feed them! It was so fun, all of them acted like they had never been fed before. They went crazy when we handed them the grass. It was so funny to watch them try and pull it out of our hands. After, that they showed you how they dye the wool from natural plants and minerals. Please enjoy the following selfies with the llamas/alpacas.
After the farm, we went to a mini zoo. They had parrots, monkeys, bears (the only ones native to South America), llamas, pumas, and Andean condors. It was very interesting to see they’re enclosures. For example, the only thing that was separating us from the bears was a mote and an unfinished wooden fence. Then we actually got in the enclosure with the condors. The Andean Condor is a massive bird, that typically doesn’t fly unless it has to because they’re so big. They’re the largest living bird that can fly. The zoo was pretty small and in a very random location, but I’m sure not all zoos in Peru are like this. The class excursion was great! I highly recommend going if you are in Cusco. It’s a very cheap way to spend an afternoon and learn a little about the animals native to Peru.
The next place we went was a little town called Pisac, which is about 45 minutes from Cusco. It was beautiful! We walked around the town for a couple hours, then went to a popular market that is held there. Bargaining is a very common thing in Peru. If the price isn’t listed, you can bargain. It’s really important to be able to bargain a little here to avoid getting ripped off. It thought it was really fun to bargain with the sellers. I ended up getting a sweater for $10 dollars! I almost got a blanket as well, but I didn’t have enough money on me. This was also before I had received my debit card, so I was on a budget.
The next thing we did was go to Palcoyo which is a recently discovered area of Rainbow Mountain. I was really hesitant about going. I wanted to go to the original Rainbow Mountain, but our tour guide talked us into going there. After I booked it, I was talking to people and telling them that I had booked this tour and know one knew what I was talking about. Including my host dad, who works in tourism. By this point, I was getting pretty disappointed that we weren’t going to the original rainbow mountain; however, in the end I was so grateful we went.
We left Cusco around 7 AM (the original tour you leave around 3 or 4 AM, so that was nice!). We had a really small group with us. There was a couple from Colombia and Mexico, a couple from the Netherlands, two people from France, and then all of us from SUU. We drove for about 2 hours to a small town called Pitumarca. There was a cool Inca bridge there that you could cross. It looked pretty sketchy, but it held up. We took some pictures, some people bought some snacks, and then we got back on the road again. We were only on paved road for another 20 minutes, and then we started going up a dirt road. The road wasn’t very big, and we were flying up it. It was pretty scary. M’kala and I were freaking out; however, it was beautiful! We drove through a couple of small Andean villages and saw a lot of llamas and alpacas grazing on the hills. When we arrived at the trail head, our tour guide told us to make sure we weren’t wearing anything that could attract lightning. We were on top of a mountain therefore, there was nothing for lightning to strike except us. Then he gave us a drop of oil in our hands to smell. It was super strong and made some of us cough and our eyes water (myself included). It’s supposed to help with opening up your airway to make sure you’re getting enough oxygen. The altitude was crazy high, the highest point we were at was 16,020 feet. Definitely the highest I’ve ever been. The difference between this tour was instead of hiking to just one mountain, you hike to the top of a mountain and then you can see two more rainbow mountains in the distance. It was sooooo pretty. As soon as we reached the top of the mountain, it started hailing pretty hard. The hail was fairly small, but with wind factored in it felt like grains of sand nailing you in the face. It hurt, but we were all laughing through the pain. We all hurried and got a picture then went back to the car. The hike itself was only about 30-40 minutes round trip. We drove back down to one of the small Andean villages and we had a really nice lunch. We had quinoa soup, lomo saltado (really famous dish here), spaghetti with carrot sauce (which sounds weird, but it was sooo good), and fresh vegetables. Overall, it was a really good tour. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
If you are debating on going to Rainbow Mountain (Vinincunca) or Palcoyo here is what I would say are the pros and cons:
Pros of Palcoyo:
No tourists (The original rainbow mountain sees around 500-1,000 tourists a day, there were only two groups at Palcoyo)
You can see 3 rainbow mountains instead of one
The hike is shorter & easier
It’s something different not many people know about (including locals).
You don’t have to leave super early.
Cons of Palcoyo:
It’s not the original (if you are set on seeing the famous mountain that is shown in every tour agency)
If you are looking for a hike, this isn’t for you. The hike is very short. (The drive in total is 4 hours)
Breakfast isn’t included
Overall, I would recommend tourists to do Palcoyo. If you’re not satisfied, tours to the original rainbow mountain usually are around $20-$30 that includes breakfast, lunch, and transportation.
The next thing I did was a four-wheeler tour in the Sacred Valley! I hadn’t driven a four-wheeler since I was a kid, so this tour really appealed to me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get anyone else on board to go. I went back and forth about not going, but then I decided to just do it. I’m so glad I did! I ended up being the only native English speaker in the group, which is pretty rare to happen on a tour in Peru; however, it wasn’t a problem. Our first stop was the Salineras (salt mines) in Maras. Right now, they aren’t mining the salt because it is out of season, but usually they are super white. It was still cool to see though!
After, we drove to the four-wheeler location. We all got on a four-wheeler and had to do two practice loops around the lot. Then we had the option to go Moray or a lake nearby. I ended up being the only person who wanted to go to Moray, which turned out great! My tour quickly turned into a private tour. Since it was just me and the tour guide, we were able to go really fast on the trail and not have to putt in a line like the three different groups we flew past. Once we got to Moray, we were only there for a few minutes and the tour guide asked me if I wanted to go to the lake too since we got to Moray super-fast.
We took a different route to the lake and then returned to the four-wheeler lot. It was a great tour and nostalgic since I hadn’t driven a four-wheeler since I was a child. This tour was a little bit more expensive than others in Cusco because 1) it’s a four-wheeler tour and 2) you need to buy a tourist ticket to enter Moray. Obviously, this tour would have been more fun had someone went with me, but overall it was fun experience. Moral of the story: You don’t necessarily need people to travel! Yes, I agree it makes the trip more memorable to have someone to experience it with, but if you really want to do something or go somewhere DO IT. Don’t wait around trying to find people to travel with. There are always excuses as to why people can’t travel. If you wait around, you’re going to miss out on some amazing opportunities.
With only about a month and a half left, I’m trying my best to take advantage of every weekend! Time has flew by and in no time I’m going to be back in the United States. I’m planning a couple more trips, and a big one towards the end of April. Also wanted to say, shout out to those who are reading my posts. I hope you are enjoying them!
¡Tengas un buen dia!
P.S. On Sunday, I got back from a 5-day trek to Machu Picchu via the Salkantay trail. It was an amazing experience that definitely deserves its own post so stay tuned!
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