peru-8-cuzco-sacred-valley

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Cuzco & the Sacred Valley T C H u E zC H O I K TO E T I VO H E C J H U OT N G E L E
the secondary jungle around Quillabamba
and into little-visited Ivochote and Pongo de
Mainique beyond.
The other two routes are more popular
but are rarely accessed by road. You can get
to the area around Parque Nacional Manu
through Paucartambo, Tres Cruces and
Shintuya, or to Puerto Maldonado via Ocongate
and Quince Mil. To get deep into these
areas, most people go on organized tours
which include light-plane flights in and out,
or in some cases, 4WD road transport.
Some of these roads are muddy, slow and
dangerous. Think twice before deciding to
travel overland, and don’t even contemplate
it in the wettest months (January to April).
An invaluable resource for independent
travelers is the Peruvian Jungle Information
Packet, sold by the South American
Explorers Club (%084-24-5484; www.saexplor
ers.org; Atocsaycuchi 670, Cuzco; h9:30am-5pm
Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat).
Cuzco to Ivochote
Soon after Ollantaytambo, the road leaves
the narrowing Sacred Valley and climbs
steeply over the 4350m Abra Málaga. From
here it’s a dizzying, scenic, mostly unpaved
descent straight into Amazonia. Dusty
Santa María has bus company offices and
a couple of very basic hospedajes and restaurants.
It marks the junction where you
turn off for Santa Teresa and the backdoor
route to Machu Picchu, or continue down to
Quillabamba.
SANTA TERESA
%084 / POP 460 / ELEV 1900M
The makeshift feel of Santa Teresa persists
even some years after the flooding that took
place in 2010, 1998 and a decade before. In
its tiny center, most buildings are prefabricated
emergency-relief shells and, strangely,
the most permanent construction is the puzzling
Plaza de Armas statue. Yet as more and
more backpackers come seeking a cheaper
access point to Machu Picchu, services are
slowly starting to grow. The real attractions
are a few kilometers outside town – the Cocalmayo
hot springs and the Cola de Mono
zipline are both worth the time and effort
required to get to them.
1 Sights & Activities
For information on hiking the alternate
route to Machu Picchu, see p38.
Cola de Mono
ADVENTURE SPORTS
(%79-2413, 959-743-060; www.canopyperu.com;
zipline US$60) South America’s highest zipline
is a must for thrill seekers. A total of
2500m of cables with six separate sections
whiz high above the spectacular scenery of
the Sacsara Valley. Allow two hours.
The owners of Cola de Mono, river guides
from way back, also run rafting on the spectacular,
and so far little-exploited, Santa
Teresa river (see p208 for more information)
and camping on their extensive grounds.
To get there, it’s a pleasant 2km (halfhour)
stroll east – just follow the road out of
town or take a taxi (S10).
Llactapata
HIKING
You can hike to the hydroelectric station via
Llactapata, a six-hour walk up and over a
hill on the well-marked Inca Trail, affording
views of Machu Picchu and access to a halfcleared
ruin. The trail is well-marked and
can be done without a guide, though they
are helpful to indicate ruins, as well as the
flora and fauna. Start early as it gets hot on
the trail. Hire a taxi (S35, 30 minutes) to drop
you off at the start in Lucmabamba. You can
take a colectivo back from the Hydroelectrica,
or continue on to Machu Picchu.
Baños Termales Cocalmayo HOT SPRINGS
(admission S5; h24 hr) These stunningly
landscaped, council-owned natural hot
springs are truly a world-class attraction.
Pools washed out in the river flooding of
2010 have been rebuilt, though camping areas
have not. As if huge, warm pools and a
natural shower straight out of a jungle fantasy
weren’t enough, you can buy beer and
snacks.
It’s 4km from town. You can reliably catch
a colectivo from Santa Teresa to Cocalmayo
at around 3pm, when vehicles head down
to collect Inca Jungle Trail walkers arriving
from Santa María. Otherwise, you may have
to brave the unshaded, dusty walk (with cars
driving too fast) or pay a taxi around S36
round-trip.
Tour de Cafe
TOUR
(per person S25) Run by Eco Quechua, this
2½-hour tour visits a family coffee farm
steeped in local tradition (see the cuys being
raised in the kitchen!). You can also pick
tropical fruit and see a fish farm in action.
Not a modern operation, this is old-style
cultivation in transition, in the process of
introducing new techniques to improve pro-