Yesterday I headed off to the Sacred Valley to visit Pisac. Pisac has a famous market and mountain top Inca Ruins, so I wanted to see both. Pisac is about 50 minutes from Cusco by road and is located in the eastern end of the valley. I had heard that it was possible to get to Pisac in a shared bus, but after waking up late (was a heavy night the night before) I decided to take a taxi. Taxi's really cheap here! The journey from Cusco to Pisac cost 45 Soles. The Taxi driver was a bid crazy, and didn't talk at all during the trip, but it was quick and easy - perfect when you have a hang over. For others that are thinking of taxing a taxi to the Sacred Valley then this article I found on some Peru Information website was really helpful - How much is a taxi to the Sacred Valley.
When I arrived into Pisac, I took another taxi up to the ruins. There is a back road which winds up the mountain to a large car park at the top. I took a local taxi, and they wanted to charge me 30 Soles, but I managed to barter them down to 20 Soles. (After all I just paid 45 Soles to get from Cusco top Pisac a much longer journey). From the top of the ruins, it is possible to walk down to the village of Pisac below, the trail is pretty straight forward, and it took me about 2 hours. I was in no rush, and took plenty of snaps along the way. The trail passes several stages of the site, including an Inca cemetery and a water feature that were (according to my guide book) ancient ritual baths. Further down the trail (about 40 minutes) you pass the main Royal sector of Pisac, where there is a small village of traditional Inca buildings complete with a sun temple. The trail continued for about another hour until the village below. By the time I got there my legs were shaking from the sheer amount of steps, and I was ready for some food!
Some guys I met in the bar the previous night recommended a restaurant called Ulrike's Cafe, I couldn't find a website for them, but they did come highly raked on trip advisor. They are located about 20 meters from the main plaza which was easy to find. I ate a menu of the day, which was absolutely delicious and only cost 15 Soles (about 3 quid!).
After lunch, I headed out to the Pisac Market. It was pretty much what I expected after seeing all the markets in Cusco. There were stalls selling everything from Alpaca jumpers, to decorated cups to stalls selling strange looking soups and food. I wandered around for 30 minutes, but nothing really took my fancy, so decided to head back to Cusco and get some rest! This time I took the colectivo back. The bus departs from where the main road from Cusco arrives into Pisac, and cost just 4 soles.
Needless to say when I got back to Cusco, I had the desire to have another beer! Norton Rats pub on the corner of Plaza de Armas is my favorite place, I found their facebook page
