Overland to Cusco, Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu

2026 Blog Post 6

The ruins of ancient Inca citadel, Machu Picchu.

A five-hour drive from our ship in Manta to Guayaquil airport. Horrendous traffic jams! Baobab like trees along route. Even Sixto Rodriguez, of “Sugarman” fame, makes it to Ecuador as a side of road vegetable stall name! Then a flight to Lima, check in, and hotel bedtime well after 11pm.

Breakfast, luggage, in bus by 07:15 next morning for the plane to Cusco. Difficult decision, but we chose to not take high altitude tablets. Somewhat lightheaded, less energy, but no serious consequences.

Cusco, per Sheryl: “gorgeous”; “fascinating”:  Once again not enough time!  Beautiful central square, imposing centuries old Spanish colonial church, excellent guide (with us for four days), authentic Peruvian lunch, fabulous narrow lanes; earthy orange tone colors; Inca architectural mastery, with perfectly fitted (no mortar) stone block buildings that withstand earthquakes.  

Our hotel beautifully set in the sublime Sacred Valley. Skilled Peruvian musicians: string, wind, percussion instruments, including harp and pan flute, enhance our meals and special 43rd Wedding Anniversary!

Many fruits and vegetables we eat are originally from pacha mama’s (earth mother’s) fertile, diverse ecosystem in Peru, including literally thousands of potato varieties. Over 50 corn varieties cultivated. 

Our Sacred Valley excursion included views of salt pans, mined and communally owned by local families, uninterrupted for 3000 years! Tectonic forces millions of years ago trapped salt from ancient seas. Remarkable agricultural terraces, different temperatures at each level, an Incan agricultural laboratory. Ancient Chinchero village’s Llama, Alpaca, Vicuna farm the highlight. Women in traditional dress expertly demonstrated hand spinning, cleaning, natural dying and weaving the wool, yielding exquisite products like soft baby alpaca jerseys with intricate Inca motifs.

The impressive cocoa leaf platform ceremony, by Peruvian musicians and dancers, a fitting send off for the 3-hour splendid Hiram Bingham train ride: destination Machu Picchu. Awe inspiring!  Deservedly one of 7 “new” world wonders. The sheer magnitude, green beauty of the soaring surrounding mountains; trapezoidal shapes, stones cut and wedged to “dance” during an earthquake. Countless walkways, steps connecting plazas, residential areas, terraces, cemetery, major buildings all astonishingly well preserved.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit, don’t hesitate!

Baobab type trees en route from Manta to Guayaquil in Ecuador.

Photograph taken from moving bus: Sixto Rodriguez makes it to Ecuador Vegetable Stall.

A sense of Cusco: High in the Andes Mountains, at 3 400 metres above sea level.
A town square in Cusco.
A “Quinceanera” we stumbled across in Cusco: Widely celebrated Latin American tradition marking transition from childhood to womanhood.
Old Spanish Colonial Church in Cusco.
Peruvian musicians entertaining us during dinner.
Ancient salt pans in the Sacred Valley.
Agricultural terraces, an Incan agricultural laboratory in the Sacred Valley.
Peruvian woman feeding Alpaca.

Explaining the spinning, cleaning, dying, weaving process at Chinchero village.

Demonstrating the natural dying process and the bright colours it yields. (Seen also in the background).

Tea leaf ceremony, performed while waiting for the Hiram Bingham train.

Trapezoidal design at Machu Picchu, no mortar and earthquake resistant.