Cuzco & The Sacred Valley (Peru)

After Arequipa we caught an overnight bus to Cuzco, America´s oldest continuously inhabited city and the former capital of the Inca empire. It´s well known today as the gateway to the Inca Trail/Machu Picchu for most travellers.

We had a low key couple of days here before starting the Inca Trail. During this time we saw the amazing cathedral located in the main plaza (which took nearly 100 years to build!) and visited the interesting Inca museum. 

We spent a day seeing the Sacred Valley on our way to the starting point for the Inca Trail. We visited a tiny community called Ccaccaccollo which GAP Adventures (the operator we did the Inca Trail with) supports through the development of a women´s weaving project and by hiring some of the men as porters on the Inca Trail. While here we learned how they dye wool and fabrics different colours by using various plant leaves or seeds - Nick´s hand was a model for showing how this works! (see photo below) 

We also saw the impressive Inca cities of Pisac and Ollantaytambo which are situated on hillsides and include agricultural terraces and buildings made from huge blocks of stone. We spent the night in Ollantaytambo before starting the Inca Trail the next morning.

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