Exeter Alumni: Andrew's Take on Peru's Sacred ValleyOur Magazine
Exeter Latin America organized an unforgettable, eight-day private trip to Peru in August 2016, and by far my favorite part was the time we spent in the Sacred Valley.
The first thing you notice about the Sacred Valley in Peru is clarity – how clearly you can see for miles, how clear the sun shines, how clear the air is that you inhale, and how clearly you can hear the wind – it’s quiet and peaceful and you immediately get the sense you are somewhere very special. And you are.
Peru’s Sacred Valley is, at once, the most charming, geographically impressive place I’ve ever been. This beautiful place, mere miles from world-famous Machu Picchu, feels entirely different from the lush, green wonder of the world that gets much of the attention (and more visitors). The Sacred Valley is a place you can’t help but to be immediately mesmerized by the earth’s power, where the jagged mountains of the Andes soar thousands of feet into the air around you, while a quiet, fertile valley below is home to some amazing, centuries-old agricultural communities. If you like being outside in nature, you’ll want to come to Peru and spend some time in and around the Sacred Valley. It will leave you with a bit more perspective on the passage of time and the power of nature over the centuries than you arrived with.
Equally impressive are the Incan ruins (this area formed the heart of the Incan empire) consisting largely of terraces built into the sharp, steep peaks that at once formed the foundations for agriculture and entire communities, and helped ward off erosion of the Andes – and 500 years later, in an impressive feat of engineering, it’s worked.
Then there are the experiences. It starts with the exhilarating landing at the Cusco airport (I’m a total flying geek) – a quick hairpin turn and slight descent among the peaks of the Andes, and then you land at the airfield. It’s located at more than 11,000 feet above sea level, one of the highest commercial airports in the world. From there, we immediately drove down into the Sacred Valley to help acclimate to the high altitude. You see the area from the land and the air all within an hour, and it’s impressive.
To get a firsthand glimpse, here’s video from our takeoff from Cusco, on the way back to Lima:
We stopped in the small town of Chinchero and a nonprofit cooperative dedicated to maintaining the Peruvian textile dying and weaving traditions. We stopped by the salt mines in Maras, recently featured in the 2017 New York Times “52 Places to Visit in 2017.” We walked around the ruins at Moray, Pisaq, and Ollantaytambo – all featuring impressive stone terracing in circular and geometric patterns, and never-ending views.
And we stopped along the Urubamba river at the base of the deep valley, where Exeter Latin America arranged for us to visit their favorite hacienda, a private ranch whose owners have farmed the lands for three generations. We were the only visitors there, and they showed us the corn fields and explained the agricultural history of corn farming before hosting us for a delightful, delicious lunch overlooking the valley.
One last highlight for me, since I’m a morning person: waking up early, as the sun rises among the mountain peaks and starts to illuminate the valley floor, it’s quiet, cool, and gorgeous. Especially the early morning at the Belmond Rio Sagrado – worth the stay, even for a night, and worth the splurge if you can.
What I love about the Sacred Valley is that it’s a perfect mix of quiet remove from urban life, active exploration of some of the world’s most impressive natural landscapes, exertion and relaxation, luxury and comfort and raw, unfiltered, authentic living, and above all, unwaveringly welcoming people. I can’t wait to go back.
–Andrew Blotky, San Francisco CA
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