Imaan Abroad

During our trip to Peru, we rented a motorcycle for two days to explore the Sacred Valley. This was one of the most incredible things I’ve done while traveling. I don’t have my motorcycle license so being with someone who does while traveling was a pretty special experience. I LOVE being on a bike. I’m not sure how I went from being terrified of heights 10 years ago to skydiving last summer but I’m a little thrill seeker now and this experience definitely satisfied that.

We based ourselves in Cusco for nearly a week and from here we did all sorts of experiences. We took the train to Machu Picchu, went to the Rainbow Mountain on an ATV tour, spent a few days in Cusco and two days exploring the Sacred Valley which I’ll recap for you here!

Renting a bike in Cusco was incredibly simple. There were lots of options of places to rent from. We got two different bikes from two different places. One we walked past and just chatted with them and the second we found on google as we wanted a bigger bike the second day. The first place just took a deposit, checked our license and only had the option of a few bikes, all of which were basically dirt bikes. The second place was a much larger operation and gave us not only helmets but jackets and gloves,  and we had the option between many different actual motorcycles. 

I generally knew the things I wanted to see there. I marked down on my map the archaeological sites of Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Moray, Urabumba and the Maras salt flats. I knew we wouldn’t get to them all but we set out packing in as much as we could on day one.

We headed in the direction of Pisac. This is an archaeological site which pre-dates the Incas and is known as the gateway to the Sacred Valley. The site consists of a citadel, religious sites, residences and agricultural terraces. It was very cool to explore, you could walk all through it all and there were amazing views from where the buildings stood. It was also extremely hot- one downside to being on a motorcycle was wearing pants, boots, sweaters and jackets which meant we were sweating at our first few stops. 

From Pisac we set off for Moray, an hour and 20 minutes away. We had a little mishap on this drive- the route I’d put into my map ended up not being a road but rather a trail for donkeys (I think as the only time we encountered anyone else on this road was an old man with a donkey and it was an extremely bumpy and hilly little path). It was definitely not meant for a motorcycle- I had to get off and walk up one section uphill as I almost fell off and got scared. Oops! Thankfully we made it out of there and eventually found a dirt road. The views on this drive were stunning, you could see the Andes and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Moray was fascinating. You first walk up to this large area of circular terraced land that goes down in levels towards the centre. We learned that it was likely a place where the Incas were testing out farming techniques as each level had a different micro climate with a different temperature. The levels serve as an irrigation system for the crops and they were doing some pretty advanced farming here. So cool!

We left Moray for the Maras Salt Flats, likely our last stop of the day, and we were hungry- we hadn’t eaten since early that morning in Cusco. We were driving and passed by a place that had a sign for coffee outside. We walked in, unsure of what this place was, and we were suddenly transported to a little paradise. We had stumbled upon Mountain View Maras, a place I had been looking at instagram videos of for months, without knowing. I had been seeing reels of these hot tubs where you’re surrounded by llamas and alpacas (alpaca heaven as I liked to call it) and I figured it was something out of our way that we would never be able to visit so I hadn’t looked into it further. What we thought was a coffee shop ended up being a luxury accommodation and restaurant in the middle of the Andes. We decided to stop speeding rushing through our day and ordered lunch here. While we waited, we went outside and fed the llamas and took in the incredible views. We were almost the only people there. The architecture of this building was stunning, the food was incredible and the hospitality was above and beyond. If I were to go back to this area, I would absolutely spend a few nights at this place. There were individual little huts for guests to sleep in and an abundance of activities- horseback riding, ATV’s and of course you’re right in the middle of the mountains, almost isolated, with the entire Sacred Valley at your fingertips. This was such a cool experience, I’m still shocked that we found this place by accident.

When we finally got ourselves out of there, we headed off to the Maras Salt Flats. The Salineras de Maras are another pre-inca site that have been continued on by local families since these times. There are over 3,000 ponds owned by more than 600 families. There are drainage systems and when the water evaporates, salt is collected from each pond. It’s an impressive site to say the least, it was incredibly cool to see. I’ll let the pictures do the talking here.

Day two on the bike, we woke up a little later- we both hadn’t been feeling well and constantly had a stomach bug in Peru. I was thinking that perhaps we would head off to Ollantaytambo and have a day similar to the one we had just done. My travel partner was a little done with the Archaeological sites- we had been to Machu Picchu the day prior to that as well. I started looking up what else we could do in the area and just typed “hot springs” into the map. The closest option was a place called Lares. The photos on google maps looked alright. We checked with the guy at the rental shop if it was a good idea to go there and he gave us a pretty enthusiastic yes which was enough to convince us. It was only 47 km from Cusco but maps said it was a 3 hour drive. It made total sense once we got into the mountains why this was. I’m not exaggerating when I say this was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever been on. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things around the world- the drive up to the Giants Causeway in Ireland, the Amalfi Coast in Italy, the Great Ocean Road in Australia, but nothing beats being on a bike. I was actually overwhelmed with how beautiful everything was at points on our drive. I think at one point I shed a happy tear because it was just too stunning. About half way there we turned off the road and went into the mountains on these small dirt roads that were all switchbacks. We zig zagged up one mountain and down the other side and repeated it over and over again. The drive to Lares was truly stunning. There were llamas and alpacas everywhere. It was one of the most remote places I’ve ever been- the road there was only built in 2019. There were children playing by a river at one point, and some ladies knitting on the side of the mountain. Aside from that, the only people we saw were the occasional farmer with their herd of alpacas. It was incredible, seeing how people were living out here. The landscape and climate were rough- it got very cold as we were at a very high altitude. Not a lot was growing around us at certain points. We arrived at the highest point, the start of the road to Lares, 4,461 m above sea level. 

At the end of this road was the town of Lares and the hot springs. We had gone down in altitude a considerable amount and while the entire drive there had been cloudy, when we got to the hot springs it was a bright and sunny little paradise. This place was so special. We didn’t meet anyone else on our trip who went here and I haven’t spoken to anyone I know who has been here either. I’m not sure why this was, but the fact it wasn’t full of tourists made it that much more special. There were several pools and we spent our time hopping between them and relaxing, surrounded by only locals. It was truly magical there. 

Our drive back was just as enjoyable, I was so happy we got to do that drive both ways as the views in the opposite direction made it like a new experience. This was my favourite day of the trip, every aspect of it was so peaceful and beautiful and I felt like I was just taking every moment in because it was all so incredible.

Renting a motorcycle in the Sacred Valley was an out of this world adventure. I’m so happy I was able to experience it this way. Maybe one day I’ll get my own license so I can see more of the world on two wheels!