We wanted to do the hike to Vinicuna (Rainbow Mountain) at over 5000 meters of altitude, but most tours left very early or arrived too late. And this was a transit day between the Inca Trail and our next tour to the Amazon basin. So we decided to do a short midday tour to Pisac instead and prepare for the Amazon Basin tour on the evening.
We took the public transport to Pisac which cost us 4 soles per person. Because we had very clear instructions on where to take it and previous experience, taking the bus this time was no hassle.
Pisac is small town built in the Vilcanota valley at 2972 meters and is located in the Sacred Valley, at its beginning. Pisac is best known for its Inca ruins on the top of the hill at 3500 meters and it’s largest market.
As per our tour guide recommendation, we took a taxi uphill for 30 soles to go the archeological site of Pisac and descended all the way to the town in the valley.
In the Inca complex of Pisac, a quite large one, we found an Inca cemetery on the mountain sides, a small fortress dominating the valley, some temples, the residential area, qolqas and a large number of terraces all the way down to the Plaza de Armas.
We had lunch at the market, a simple meal, before taking the bus back to Cusco. Once back, we picked up our laundry and prepared a small backpack with clothing and other items for the Amazon basin tour. Our large backpack was left at the tour operator’s main office in Cusco.
*For more information on Pisac, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%ADsac
