OUR TIME IN CUSCO AND A VISIT TO MARAS AND MORAY

NOVEMBER 2019

Before getting to Machu Picchu (!!!) we had some days to spend in Cusco to get used to the altitude. Cusco is situated at a height of 3.400m and if you want to do any treks in this area it is sensible to stay in Cusco for a few days. This will also make your Machu Picchu experience much more relaxed! It definitely isn’t a punishment to have to stay in Cusco for a few days, it is a beautiful colonial city and there are many day trips you can do from Cusco. If you want to, you could enjoy yourself in this area for about two weeks. We decided to stay in Cusco for five nights, not including our overnight to Machu Picchu. To us, this was sufficient time to explore this area and get used to the altitude. Read about our experience in Cusco and our day trip to Maras & Moray.

One of the beautiful miradores of Cusco

San Blas & historical city center Cusco

We stayed in the San Blas area of Cusco. The San Blas area is a beautiful part of the old town, with little alleyways, footpaths, white houses with rustic blue doors and charming restaurants. The San Blas area is just a few blocks away from the main square of Cusco: Plaza de Armas. Getting up and down the hilly streets of San Blas is the perfect way to get a bit of exercise for Machu Picchu! Our hotel “Andean home” cost only € 26 per night for a private room including bathroom and breakfast in the perfect location. In the lobby you could always get a cup of coca tea, which will help you deal with the altitude. We loved wandering around in the historical city center. Plaza de Armas is surprisingly relaxed and not overcrowded, if you go in the morning you can even get some nice pictures. In some cities I find the main squares a little bit creepy and I keep protecting my valuables, but in Cusco my experience with the main square was fine. You will be offered lots of massages though 😉

The heart of the city center: Plaza de Armas
Below you will find some examples of the beautiful doors of Cusco! #ihavethisthingwithdoors

One thing that made our stay in Cusco very pleasant was that the restaurants were amazing! We accidentally walked into the fancy “Uchu” where they make delicious alpaca steaks, pisco sours and a chocolate-tiramisu which caused us to go back the next night… We also loved “Organika”, “Rucula” and “Yaku”, these restaurants have the same owner and offer super delicious and healthy food for very reasonable prices. They even decorate the food with flowers from their own farm 🙂 The staff of these restaurants in Cusco were trained so incredibly well, the hospitality was of such a high level, we would recommend everyone to indulge in Cusco.

If you want to eat a little less fancy you can have a local lunch at the San Pedro market. The San Pedro market is also the place to be for cool souvenirs. I do have to admit that the supply of souvenirs in Peru has been kind of frightening, but it is always fun to walk around on a market enjoying the amazing colors.

Santo Domingo Church & Convent

When we spotted this building, which really looks like the Alhambra in Spain, I knew we had to visit it. The entrance fee of the convent is about € 4 euros, as there is a lot to see I found this a really good deal. What is really special about the convent is that it used to be an Inka temple. When the Spanish took over Cusco, they decided to build a church and convent on the foundation of the Inka temple. The building therefore still has a lot of Inka influences, and you can really admire the way the Inkas built without using cement.

Beautiful courtyard of the convent
Below you will find examples of the Inka architecture
Loved these beautifully decorated ceilings

Day trip to Maras & Moray

One of the things I really wanted to do in the Cusco area was to visit the salt mines of Maras. The salt mines are super colorful and located in a spectacular green valley, so this was something I had to see with my own eyes. Near Maras you will find Moray, Moray is a site which features deep circles where the Inca’s used to experiment with growing crops. Every circle has its own temperature and the Inca’s used it to figure out where they would get the best quality of food. Both Maras and Moray are located at about the same altitude as Cusco, so this is the perfect activity to acclimatize.

Best twirling point of Moray
Moray is mostly restored, these circles have not been restored
Hielke picked the perfect outfit for this day

I would have really liked to have visited these sites individually, but the public transport is limited and you would have to take a lot of taxis to get around. After a lot of thinking we decided to book a half day tour for 25 soles (about € 6). Little did we know that the tours are this cheap, because you get dropped off at a lot of shops. You would get quite a lot of time in those shops, while we had to rush in Moray and Maras, so this was super disappointing. For Moray we had to pay an entrance fee of 70 soles (€ 19) and we didn’t even have an hour to wander around. Your entrance ticket for Moray can also be used for other historic sites, such as Pisac, but it can only be used on two consecutive days. We had already booked our Humantay Lake tour for the next day, so for us this was a very expensive entrance fee.

Salt mines of Maras

At Maras we had the next disappointment, as we were only allowed to observe the salt mines instead of walking through the salt mines (10 soles entrance fee). I had seen so many beautiful pictures of people wandering through the salt mines, so I had an exact picture in mind. But unfortunately, since recently you are not allowed to go in anymore. Luckily Hielke challenged me to get really creative with the pictures, so we took some nice pictures by getting off the tourist path.

Getting a little off the beaten path to take this picture

In the end, I would absolutely recommend to arrange private transport. Maras and Moray were absolutely stunning places and you need sufficient time to explore them. 45 minutes per site is just not enough, so we would advise to spend a little more and not to book the cheap half-day trips that are offered everywhere.

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