Peru 1-Cusco and the Sacred Valley

Sue and I flew to Cusco, Peru and met our REI Adventures tour group there. We spent 3 days exploring the area around Cusco, and the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River. This gave everyone in the group a chance to acclimate to the altitude (Cusco is 11,200 ft) before beginning our trek of the Inca Trail, during which we would cross passes as high as 13,800 ft. It also gave us a chance to visit some of the most remarkable of Inca sites, including the Saksaywaman "fortress", Korichancha, the Inca's most important temple, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray and others. Truly a remarkable area with an incredibly rich history.