If you have made it as far as Cusco on your travels, it is likely you will want to explore more of the area than just Machu Picchu (hopefully). If you have bought the Cusco Tourist Ticket, you will notice you can get entry to 16 different tourist attractions, and if you are like me, you will be wanting to get your moneys worth.
The Cusco tourist ticket includes attractions in 4 sections; museums in Cusco city, Inca attractions around Cusco city, the Sacred valley, and the South Valley. We visited everything but the few attactions in the South Valley as we didn’t have time. You can also read of review of Ollantaytambo here, which is part of the Sacred Valley.
After magical Ollantaytambo, Pisac was our favourite attraction on the tourist ticket. We decided to visit it independently, so took a short taxi ride ( 5 soles ) to Puputi Street street where the collectivos depart from. The drive to Pisac is about 60 minutes and costs 7 soles per person. Collectivos depart once full, but there was not a wait at all when we visited.
The road from Cusco to Pisac is windy as it weaves its way up and down and around the mountains of the Sacred Valley. I was worried that Jake or I might get car sick (as Jake got sick in the collectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo) but both of us did OK. The collectivo doesn’t drop you off directly in town, but instead on the main road just on the other side of the small stream. It’s only a five minute walk to the main square from there though.
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The main square is the location of the Pisac market – although the market is officially held on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (and with Sunday being the biggest day), it has become so popular with tourists that it is now held more or less every day. This is the biggest market we saw in Peru, and since most markets all sell the same sort of stuff, this is probably the best market to do your shopping at. This market also has a large variety of silver jewellery – possibly more than I have seen at the other tourist markets as well. I was going to buy some but then decided to wait until I was in Lima – that was a mistake – as Lima did not have the variety and quality at their markets.
There are also a bunch of cafes and restaurants around the square, but this is where your Pisac visit will end (if you do the much recommended hike), so you can save all that stuff for the end of your visit.
The Pisac ruins are located, of course, at the top of a mountain. You will need a taxi to get there. The going rate when we visited was 50 soles for a one way trip – which yes, is excessive for Peruvian taxis, and maybe we got ripped off. But it is a long up hill route on a windy road. Either way, we got to the top and entered the site. We decided not to get a guide for this site as we were more interested in the ruins as a hiking location than anything else. If you do want to learn more about the ruins, then you should absolutely get a guide as there is little to no signage throughout the complex.
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But for the hike – this hike is fantastic. We have been unable to do many of the hikes we wanted to do in Peru because of either 1) length, or 2) altitude. Both of these things do not combine well with small children. This hike however was perfect. The altitude does start out a little high, but since we had just spent a week in Ollantaytambo and several days in Cusco, we were acclimatized. The hike itself starts at the entrance to the ruins, and winds itself down through the ruins and the rice terraces to the town below. The walk is not strenuous at all, and takes about 2 hours. Its perfect to do with little ones and although good shoes are recommended, you do not really need any specific gear.
I won’t go into the walk in detail, its a one way route, but I will provide these photos to give you an idea of the scenery and ambiance.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The walk terminates at a spot where an old lady sells freshly squeezed orange juice, and at the entrance to the market. Now is the time to do your shopping (not before, as then you have to carry it all with you), and unwind with a coffee. We recommend the cafe on the corner of the square called the Blue Llama. They have good espresso based coffees and jenga.