There is a lot going on in Cusco. It is the most visited city in Peru – and for good reason. Anyone who visits Machu Picchu travels through Cusco on their way to the ruins – whether they take the train, hike the Inca Trail or do an alternative route like we did. Beyond the draw of Machu Picchu, the city has a lot going for itself – it’s beautiful, there is a lot of history there (being as it was the capital of the Inca empire shortly before it’s demise), there are tons of great restaurants and beautiful hotels, and it serves as an access point to the Sacred Valley which is an awesome spot to do just about anything outside including hiking, horseback riding, rafting, mountain biking, etc.

As part of our trip and activity research for Adventures Within Reach, we had the opportunity to do some mountain biking in area and we were not disappointed.  The group consisted of Ted and me, as well as another couple from Canada. We had a lead guide in front and an assistant guide who brought up the rear. Both Ted and the other gentleman from Canada had some mountain biking experience under their belts so they were able to fly down the hills with the lead guide.  Myself and the other woman were not quite as experienced and appreciated having the assistant guide back with us going our pace.

The Sacred Valley is a wide open valley used heavily for farming but also surrounded by 20,000+ foot mountains. The scenery is spectacular. Just before lunch we had the opportunity to visit the ruins of Moray which anthropologists believe were constructed as an experimental farming technique that dates back to Incan or possibly pre-Incan times.

After a delicious lunch the mountain bike trail changed from mostly flat and rolling hills to being essentially a straight downhill ride. It was at this point that our guide informed us that we would be riding on one of the most popular downhill racing routes in the South America and that he in fact competed in the race! It was a fun ride, for sure, but as it maneuvered around tight corners and over slippery gravel patches near the edges of a cliff, I found myself relying more and more heavily on my brakes.

On the way down we stopped another time at the Maras Salt Pans. People from the town of Maras still use the the pans and literally mine for salt. The water that comes out of the mountain is naturally high in sodium and as it evaporates in the shallow pans, salt forms. Every few days they gather the salt and allow more water to fill the pans. It’s quite a sight, actually! We were told that some of the salt is used for human consumption and some is used for animals.

After the final stop, we cruised down a bit more before celebrating with a beer at the bottom. It was quite a day and we were able to strongly recommend Amazonas Explorer’s mountain biking day-trip to Adventures Within Reach for their future clients! We looked forward to doing a rafting trip and hiking trip with Amazonas Explorer as well, however, our plans were unfortunately canceled due to a nationwide strike that was brewing…