That’s a wrap on Peru. We had a great time. Highly recommend the Cusco and Machu Picchu area. The high altitude and cool temps were a challenge, but the entire experience was amazing. The jungle was spectacular, but I’m not going to miss the bugs. Or the heat. Or the humidity.

Our trip to Sandoval Lake included a hike through the jungle on a boardwalk, a canoe trip, and a lot of plants and animals. These are more pictures from Sandoval Lake in the Puerto Maldonado post, but these got missed. Whoops.

It’s the jungle! Sorry for the delay. It’s just that nothing seems all that newsworthy after Machu Picchu! But here you go. The jungle was very cool. So many plant, animals, butterflies, and such. We stayed a while at a place with an amazing view of the river and a large hiking area. Then we…

The flora and fauna I captured of Cusco. In no particular order.

This was the most important Inca temple. During colonial times it was pillaged, dismantled, and “repurposed” by the Spaniards. Most of the structures are the from the Convent of Santo Domingo that was built on the foundation of the original temple.

We had an early morning ticket to Machu Picchu. The day started rainy and cloudy. We waited for a bit and the fog started to clear. Machu Picchu was a mystical, magical place rising out of the mist. Pictures can not capture this place. There were no signs so I have no idea what some…

AKA – Agua Calientes. The gateway to Machu Picchu. We rode the train here and spent the night for our early morning tickets to Machu Picchu. Views from the train and town.

The South Valley of Cusco includes the archaeological sites of Tipon and Pikillacta.

Pictures from Q’enqo, Q’enqo Chico, and Qochapata. These 3 sites had some really interesting carving/reshaping of natural stone formations.

We grabbed a group tour to the Sacred Valley. We visited Chinchero, Moray, the Maras Salt Mines, Ollantaytambo, and Pisac. Moray was an agricultural lab where Incas grew plants on different terraces to test temperature, soil types, etc. The temperature difference between the top and the bottom is 15 degrees.