On the road to the Sacred Valley (The final day of preparation)
Our final day before the trek began with a van ride (yes! a van ride!) to Maras, Peru and a visit to Sal Natural y Ecologica, the Salt Mines. There are thousands of ponds that are fed from a natural stream. We tried the water in the stream – it was warm and very salty. This stream originates underground and is a great natural source for salt. These mines have been in operation for about 1000 years The Salt Mines from a distance The warm and salty stream
After the salt mines we drove onto Moray. Moray is an Incan ruin with terraced circles. The top circle is 15oF warmer than the lowest one. This allowed the Inca’s to cultivate many different crops. After Moray we drove down some very winding roads to the Sacred Valley into the town of Ollantaytambo. Moray circular fields
Moray circular fields
A glimpse of the Sacred Valley
In Ollantaytambo we had our first of many meals provided by Adventure Life. After this fantastic lunch we went over to the ruins of Ollantaytambo and began climb up several hundred stairs to the top of the ruin. Did I mention the stairs would be pretty much common from this day forward? Hundreds of stairs, thousands of stairs, I think I climb stairs in my sleep! I have climbed soooo many stairs that my legs are still tired and I think they will be tired for months after this adventure ends. On the bright side, this ruin has a series of fountains carved by the Incas that provided fresh water for the village. Such innovation! We even saw an Incan “Flintstone” television. You must find fun and joy in the midst of trying to exhaust every muscle in your legs! Going up the stairs at Ollantaytambo A view down the stairs The Inca “Flintstone” TV
A water supply fountain
A ceremonial fountain
From Ollantaytambo we drove to Pisac (yes I said drove!) which was about an hour away. We visited the ruins at Pisac which was a series of 3 villages. We climbed (again!) to the top of the ruins and looked down at the villages. The fact these ruins are still standing is testament to the skills of the builders since the Spanish did try to destroy the Inca settlements. Entrance to first village in Pisac
Terraces at Pisac
In a walkway at Pisac
More stairs at Pisac
Representation of thatch roofing at Pisac
This day brought us to 3 ruins and the Salt Mines. So far we have seen 5 ruins and climbed about 2000 stairs.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
1 month ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
1 month ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
2 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.