Cusco, Sacred Valley & Ollantaytambo

Cusco meant the start of the Inca Trail Discovery tour... we spent one day & night in Cusco before heading off to the Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo where we would have a small hike to get us geared up for the infamous Inca Trail.

Cusco is a cute city, with endless cobbled streets where you could spend hours walking around exploring each nook and cranny. Cusco is situated 3326 metres above sea level and so this is the time to allow your body to acclimatise to high altitude before beginning the trail.

Initial signs of altitude sickness for me consisted of slight dizzyness and fatigue but figured if that was all I had to put up with then I would be fine at 4,200 metres which would be the highest pass on the trail.

Plaza de Armas is the main square in Cusco, with an great cathedral as its centre piece, and many streets leading off it that you could spend hours getting lost around.

We will return to Cusco after the Inca Trail where more exploration will take place. Next... onto the Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo!

45 minutes out of Cusco we visited a small village surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges - this was the beginning of our tour of the Sacred Valley. Peruvian women sat around making hats, scarves, socks, gloves etc.. out of Alpaca wool whilst the children happily milled around the field which was also home to a herd of Alpaca.

The Sacred Valley was were the educational tour of the Inca Period began, Percy our guide was extremely good at explaining the history, and with a true passion he explained all there was to know about his ancestors. A hike around the Sacred Valley got us into the swing of what magnificent sites were to be seen on the trail due to start the following day...

First though, a good nights sleep in the small town of Ollantaytambo before 3 nights of camping along the trail...