reguli Loc: Uruguay

In this installment I publish our trip to Peru in 2019. We flew from Montevideo direct to Lima, Peru and from there to Cusco, where we spent a day to acclimatize to the altitude. Remember that the difference in level between Montevideo and Cusco is around 9000 feet. The next day we took the train to the town of Aguas Calientes (town of Machu Pichu) basically the only way to get to that town. Cars cannot reach the area and the other two ways are 3 days walking through the forest on the Inca trail and by helicopter (I did not see any). Now you are close to the Machu Pichu sanctuary and you can use the buses to get to the place (only these vehicles are allowed in the place) or walk (a couple of hours of walking) on the Hiram Bingham road. Once in place and with your ticket paid in advance (at least one month) you enter the sanctuary. It takes easily 5 or 6 hours to complete your visit, but if you have the ticket to climb Huayna Pichu mountain, it takes three or four more hours. One small problems; there are no bathrooms inside the park, only at the entrance. After a hard day we returned to Aguas Calientes and the next day we returned to Cusco where we rented a car to visit the entire sacred valley. The sacred valley consists of different Inca constructions along 60 miles, bordering the mountains of the Cordillera de los Andes. The last town we arrived was Ollantaytambo, where there is an amazing construction that was built as a military fortification. Once we visit the sacred valley, we return to Cusco and fly to Arequipa in the southwest. We visited the city and were very impressed with several things: i)the active volcano The Misti ii) a city exposed to earthquakes and iii) the quantity of dust in the air. For us the Misti is for Arequipa like Vesuvius for Pompeii. While I was there, I always looked at Misty for any sign of smoke. After our visit to Arequipa we rented a car and went to Puno in southern Peru on the border with Bolivia, to live two days on an island of totora with the Uros people.
In these two installments about Peru, there are some photos of more than 2000 that I took on this trip, but the ones I post here are more or less the itinerary of the trip. The first ten are Cusco, Machu Pichu and the Sacred Valley. The next installment will be Arequipa and Puno.

Principal square and cathedral of Cusco

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Aguas calientes (Machu Pichu town)

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The classical of Machu Pichu in a stormy day

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Inside the sanctuary

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Inside the sanctuary

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Saqsaywaman a ceremonial place

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View of Cusco from Saqsaywaman

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Tambomachay a resting place for walkers

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The terraces of Pisac

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Ollantaytambo archeological site

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Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Nice!

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Another beautiful tour, Jorge!

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

Quite interesting! And WOW(!) at all that rock work, on those terraces!

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thank for your kind comments

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thank you Mike for your kind comments

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thanks for your kind comments

Ourspolair

More beautiful images. The terraces are particularly appealing. Great composition. Your narrative is very helpful in getting a perspective of visiting the sanctuary. Thanks again for sharing. Please stay safe.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Another beautiful place. Looks rugged.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Excellent shots Jorge, bringing back fond memories from a similar trip we did in 1999, including also La Paz. Our local guide was joking about the name of the place in #7: he said: just call it "Sexy woman" and you'll be close enough - looking forward to more of your pictures! Joe

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thanks for your kind comments

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thanks for your kind comments

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thanks for your kind comments

randave2001 Loc: Richmond

Wonderful set of images.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice work, Jorge--enjoyed. Thanks for taking me there vicariously.