On Sunday afternoon I headed for a big Sunday market in Pisac, where I stayed overnight. The market is 99% souvenir shopping, so highly disappointed I went off wandering around amazing fields outside of town with the view on the valley and nearby mountains. Much better!
At 7 am in the morning I hiked up to the ruins of Pisac and already at 10:30 am caught a bus to Ollantaytambo (with a change in Urumbamba).
Ollantaytambo serves as a hub for Machu Picchu hikes/trains to Aguas Calientes, but it is also a cute little town with its own ruins. Ruins were crowded, so I headed off to another hill. I just around how to get there and climbed up. I got off the road and did some simple rock climbing. The hills are like steps - very easy to climb.
The next morning I headed towards Cuzco. My first stop was in Turumbabma where I climbed the hill to get to Las Salineras (salt mines), actually for free. It is quite an amazing site with salt pools filling up the hills like rice terraces in China. I walked to the official entrance in the afternoon heat wondering how I will get back on the main road. I was inside the canyon with no desire to return the way I came and no idea how far away the highway was from another side.
A driver of the lonely minivan with tourists told me I was 15 km away from the main road I was trying to get to. And no, he cannot give me a ride, he has tourists in his van. So I waited, chewing on grapes I bought at the Ollantaytambo´s market. Next minivan with tourists arrived and I approached with the same entreaty. Alright, he said, while his tourists are wandering around the salt mines he would give me a lift. Man, it was far. I got out of the situation very easily. All the way to the top the driver was drilling me with questions - how did i get to Las Salineras in the first place, where I was from, who I was traveling with. Alone? Not afraid?
The road from Urumbamba to Chincheros is the most amazing in the valley. The 15 km turn off to Las Salineras was equally stunning (no pictures). Snow covered mountain peaks on one side of the road and green fields on another. Postcard perfect view.
I was dropped off on the main road right when my bus was approaching. In another 30 minutes I got off in a small typical village of the valley - Chincheros. The highlights of Chincheros are cute little streets and an old colonial church. At lunch time the town was dead. I was back on a bus in less than 2 hours.
Got back to Cuzco just on time to pay for my rafting trip starting the very next day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/in4ik/sets/72157605063695097/
1 comment:
HI !
I have been abroad also, too long this time, but in business, very busy indeed, and without spare time for to see with due and proper eyes, your magnificent and fascinating description of your travel. You "see and feel things, that I could not see and feel on the same way". Maybe I know why. Congratulations and good luck.
FFC
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