Day 449 – Cusco to Pisac
Starting our Sacred Valley Journey
After breakfast today, we packed our 15L day pack and a 20L ‘pack away pack’ for our Sacred Valley trip. The ‘pack away pack’ is one of those packs that fold into a small pouch. We were able to leave our larger backpacks at Cusco International Hostal.
Getting to Pisac from Cusco
We walked towards the minibus terminal for Pisac. On MAPS.ME it is labelled ‘Minibus a Pisac, Calca y Urubamba’ and on Google Maps it’s just called ‘Estacion de Buses Urubamba y Calca.’ As we were across the road from the location shown on the map, I asked my wife the name of the town we were going to. As soon as she replied “Pisac,” we were swarmed by people trying to sell us bus tickets!
It was crazy. Despite the maps showing only one terminal, there are several in that area. We went with Inversiones Inka Tours S.R.L as they said they would be leaving in 10 minutes. We were inside the van at 10.10am and as promised, the van left at 10.20am.
Pisac
We arrived in Pisac, 50 minutes later. The van dropped us off near a bridge. From here, we had a short walk to a nice market. We didn’t stop at the market, but kept walking towards the Pisac Ruins. There are some bathrooms near the market. When we went, there were no staff, but I think you would normally have to pay. We had accommodation a short way from town, but we didn’t want to waste time going there to drop off our bags so we just visited the ruins with our packs.
The river running through Pisac 
Pisac market
Pisac Archaeological Park
From town we could have gotten transport to the ruins and then walked back towards the market, but we are opted to save money and the environment and do everything on foot. The town of Pisac is almost 3,000m above sea level so the hike is taxing on the body.
Before we went into the Archaeological Zone, we had some freshly squeezed OJ from an old lady. After several stairs, we came across the ticket booth. The site is included with the Boleto Turístico del Cusco 10 Day Pass.
Delicious and fresh OJ
Overall the hike was difficult but worth every step. In total from one end to the other is approximately 3km with a maximum elevation of approximately 3,500m.
We were able to see large terraces and several clusters of buildings throughout the site. The stone buildings were in a decent condition, considering the age. In two locations, there were fresh water fountains that were still running. The Incas really knew what they were doing.
Incan Terraces The site is just massive and surrounded by a massive valley Stone work is incredible
For most of the time we were just climbing up, until we made it to a viewpoint. This was the peak of the site. It was all downhill after this. For the entire uphill section, we didn’t see many people. On the downhill section, we could see several tour groups climbing up.
Its a tight squeeze through the tunnel The holes along the cliff face are tombs Zoomed in views of the tombs Even more zoomed in The end point
As we could see the end of the site, it started to rain heavily. We found a shelter to wait out the rain for a while. As the rain wasn’t getting any better, we decided to walk to the end and wait under shelter there. We arrived at the opposite car park at 3.15pm, which was 4 hours after we left the market in Pisac.
Waiting for the rain to pass by
When the rain died down, we decided to walk back to the market. We found a way that bypasses having to hike up. Therefore we were back at the market just after 4.30pm. We kept getting caught in the occasional sun shower.
Map of Pisac – Green Line is the way we entered and Purple is the easy way back We followed this sign to Pisac The steps along the terraces give an amazing pattern Saw this cute little guy as we were leaving
Back in Pisac, the town
From the market, we had a relatively short walk on flat ground to our accommodation Hasta Art Hotel. The hotel is also a yoga retreat. The room and common area were really nice. The people we met on the first day seemed to be caught up in teen drama so ignored us.
After having much needed showers and settling down, we walked back into town to buy some supplies and grab dinner. We ended up going to a nice restaurant called El Tomillo. The owner was really friendly and the food was delicious.
As we were heading back to the hotel at night time, it was pitch black without street lamps. We started walking back since we couldn’t think of anything else to do. I’m sure it would have been fine, but after the night time dog attack in Bangkok (Day 30) I have always been worried about dark streets.
As we were going a tuk tuk was driving towards town. We flagged it down and got it to take us to the hotel. We had an early night as we want to continue exploring the Sacred Valley tomorrow.
Travelled November 2019
Expenses and Transport
- Boleto Turístico del Cusco – 10 Day Pass – 130 PEN (~$62 AUD) per person
- Bus – Cusco to Pisac – 4 PEN (~$2 AUD) per person with Inversiones Inka Tours S.R.L
- Tuk Tuk – Pisac Town to Harta Art Hotel – 2 PEN (~$1 AUD)