Cusco to Sacred Valley
Our Apus Peru guide, Pilar, met us at the Cusco Airport on a sunny Saturday morning. We boarded a comfortable white van and met our driver, Ever. We left Cusco on a road that wound north, up the mountain.
Our first stop was Awana Kancha, a farm and textile center similar to Mundo Alpaca, which Steve and I we had visited in Arequipa. There were about forty camelids at this farm, including three vicuña. They were a lovely caramel brown color, with small, delicate faces, large black eyes, and graceful bodies. Normally, vicuña would be seen only in the wild, but these had been orphaned while still young and could not survive on their own. The youngest was still nursing from a kind and surprisingly large foster mama llama.
We had fun feeding fresh alfalfa to the llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas. I was hoping to hear the alpacas hum, but had no luck. There was no screaming or spitting, either, just a lot of contented munching.
A multi-tiered structure held dozens of guinea pigs, and Pilar reminded us that here in Peru, they are lunch, not pets!
We visited the shop and learned how to feel the difference between synthetic, baby alpaca, and vicuña textiles. There were many beautiful sweaters, scarves, and ponchos, but we weren’t ready to buy yet.
Soon after leaving Awana Kancha, we reached the Sacred Valley. This place was very special to the Incas, as it was near their capital city of Cusco but lower and warmer, with fertile land and a river for growing maize and other crops. We stopped briefly at a lookout point to take photos of the Sacred River winding its way through villages and farms..
Our next stop was the Pisac National Archaeological Park, an Inca complex built in the 1400s. Agricultural terraces covered the hillsides. Each tier was held up by a seven-foot-high stone wall! We walked through one of four groups of stone structures. Pisac was a magnificent place.
Our drive ended at our hotel, Aranwa Sacred Valley, a beautiful property on the bank of the river. We were given a stunning two-bedroom suite with a two-story great room! For dinner at the hotel restaurant, Steve ordered cuy crocante (crispy fried guinea pig), and it was delicious! We turned in early, needing to catch up on lost sleep after our early flights.
