This was my first trip to South America and it was even better than I could have hoped for! Jane and I flew in and out of Cusco and were there for two weeks. We had the opportunity to fully explore the surrounding area and enjoyed every minute of it. 

Our arriving flight landed at 6:00am so we didn't have much energy after traveling for the past 15 hours. Thankfully, our Air BnB host let us check in early so we could take a nap. We spent the next two days exploring cafes and restaurants, shopping, and getting $8, hour-long massages. Ahhhh....vacation :)

We also wanted to allow ourselves time to acclimatize. Cusco sits at over 11,000 ft so that was an adjustment by itself. On top of that, we planned to go up to over 17,000 ft on our third day there so we needed all the rest and oxygen we could get before beginning the more adventurous part of our trip.

Our first day trip was to Rainbow Mountain (or Vinicunca). We decided that getting up that high would make the rest of trip seem like a breeze and if you have ever seen pictures of this place, you would want to go there too. It's insanely cool looking!

It was a good shock to the system getting up that high, that fast. After a three and a half hour car ride from Cusco, it was about a three hour hike to the top. Due to the altitude, a lot of people ride horses or mules to the top. Our guide told us that many people, especially Peruvians, come to the area just to get a picture and say they have been there and totally under estimate the effort it takes to do a hike at that altitude. Lucky for them, there are no shortage of villagers willing to let people bum a ride on their horses for a small fee. 

The view from the top was unbelievable.  You had a rainbow colored valley on one side, and towering, snowy mountains on the other. It was a bit crowded at the top but when you have 360 degree views looking out over such a vast area, you hardly notice the other people around you. I would highly recommend this hike for anyone who visits the Cusco Region. 

By the time we arrived back at our Air BnB, Jane's family had arrived- her parents, her sister, and her brother-in-law. They were still jet-lagged and we were exhausted from our day so we found a great little restaurant nearby for an early dinner and then called it a night. 

The following day we had an early breakfast and then set out on a full-day tour of the Sacred Valley. Machu Picchu is what draws the masses to this region but some of the other Incan sites in the valley are also very worthwhile to see. We saw some of the finest examples of Ican stone work at Ollantaytambo, learned how they grew crops in Pisac and Moray, visited Peru's largest salt mine, and watched weavers turn Alpaca wool into colorful clothes.  

Our guided REI portion of the trip started the next day. They took us on a 7 day trek along the Salkantay trail which ended at Machu Picchu. The entire time with them was wonderful. They took care of all the planning, lodging, and meals. They even carried water for us on the trail so we never had to have more than a water bottle! This kept our packs light and made the walking as easy as possible.

The trail covered quite a wide variety of landscapes and eco systems. We hiked to a mountain lake (Lake Humantay) which sits at 14,000 ft and then up through the Salkantay Pass which is a little over 15,000 ft before heading back down in elevation and into some jungle landscapes for a a couple of days. 

I love snow-capped mountains so the day up at the pass was my personal favorite. We had pretty good weather that day so we could see the peak of Mt. Salkantay which is over 20,000 ft. The scale of the mountain made us feel like we could reach out and touch it. It was pretty cool to hike along the trail while the mountain towered over us. 

REI did a great job along the way of teaching us the culture of the Peruvian people. Our guides, Teddy and Rule, were both fantastic and had answers to all of our questions. They both cared a lot about sustainable tourism. They have seen first hand how over crowding and irresponsible tour groups can ruin the environment and the beautiful natural landscapes that they work in everyday. 

Although we barely saw any other people along the trail, Machu Picchu itself was very crowded. Teddy told us that the "official" number of visitors each day is 2,500 people but that the actual number can be 6,000 or even more. The ruins were very well kept and they have a lot of staff to make sure people don't damage the stones but the crowds are a bit distracting as you walk around. 

We were able to find a few elevated view points that were up away from most of the crowds where we were able to soak in the scenery and beauty of the area. To realize just how remote of a location it is and to see how steep of a mountain the city was built on was really incredible.  

It was a fantastic trip from beginning to end. Another place crossed off the bucket list!