salt mines of maras

Moray and the Salt Mines of Maras Tour

During my stay in Cusco, I toured Rainbow Mountain, the Sacred Valley, and Moray and the Salt Mines of Maras.  All of them were very special places to visit, and I’m glad I made time to see each place, that I did not do during my visit 15 years ago to hike Machu Picchu.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts there are several different companies offering the same tours, typically with a small twist.  Despite almost identical visits, the prices vary.  One of the most budget friendly tour companies, popular with a younger crowd, is Machu Picchu Reservations. 

The prices were so low that I was hesitant to reserve any tours online with this company in advance of my arrival.  But once I landed in Cusco and all my plans were derailed due to illness, I was glad to be able to make some last-minute bookings with them, especially when I realized the tours didn’t differ much.

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Sacred Valley

Sacred Valley Day Tour

The last time I visited Peru was in 2009 to hike to Machu Picchu. In typical American fashion, I had limited vacation.  As a result, I only had time to do the amazing Salkantay trek with Mountain Lodges of Peru, but had to skip the Sacred Valley as well as many other attractions near Cusco.

While I don’t generally return to the same places because there is too much to discover in the world, I returned to Cusco to see Rainbow Mountain (which was covered in ice in 2009) and tacked on a few other tours in the area. The first being, the Sacred Valley.

I was worried about tours filling up in the summer, so I prebooked everything with Salktantay Trekking.  This was unnecessary.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 100 different tour companies lining Cusco’s Plaza Mayor and surrounding cobblestone streets.  As long as you have a few days of flexibility, it is easy to book day tours on arrival. Cusco has really exploded with tourism over the last 15 years!

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