We were thinking maybe we had made a mistake scheduling a tour of the Sacred Valley outside of Cusco after our epic experience at Machu Picchu. Although it’s home to some of the most important architectural complexes of the Inca Empire, we wondered if it would be an anticlimactic disappointment?

Turns out we had nothing to worry about. Over the course of another long day in a van (once again in the last row 😕), we visited numerous sites featuring fascinating innovations by the Incas.

Our first stop was the ruins of Chinchero, a settlement that the Incas took over and expanded for use by the royal family before the Spanish arrived. The development is massive, covering over 100 acres, and highlights those terraces that seem to be everywhere in this part of the world.

Speaking of terraces, what we saw at Moray, the second location on our tour, was a remarkable example of Incan ingenuity. These amphitheater-like circles were actually laboratories to help them determine which...

Machu Picchu was the crown jewel of our three-week Peru adventure. Because of its status as a top bucket list destination, attendance is strictly controlled and reservations must be made at least two months in advance.

For those brave (or unorganized) enough to try it, a limited number of same-day tickets are sold, but we were told people line up in the middle of the night in hopes of getting one.

There are three different routes to experience the Inca citadel:

• Circuit 1 (Panoramic). Offers iconic views of the site from above.
• Circuit 2 (Classic). Here you enter the city and explore many of its main archaeological features.
• Circuit 3 (Royalty). Concentrates on the lower terraces, including temples and royal residences.

When we booked our 2-day, one-night trip, Wondrous Expeditions (the company we used) informed us only Circuit 1 was available. We were disappointed that we wouldn’t get to actually walk into the interior of Machu Picchu, but said, “Oh well, it is what it is. Le...

Sharing our travel experiences accomplishes two things. We get to take you along on our adventures, and this blog serves as a kind of diary for us to chronicle what happened before the details become confused or forgotten altogether.

Case in point. In our last post we promised to tell you all about our epic journey to Machu Picchu. But afterwards when we looked back at the itinerary, we realized we had skipped a day trip that happened beforehand.

Oops. So let’s first recount our memorable (for not all the right reasons) excursion to the Rainbow Mountains of Palcoyo.

When researching interesting activities for our Peru trip, Edd stumbled upon a Rainbow Mountain originally known as Vinicunca. Discovered just over a decade ago when warmer temperatures melted the snow covering it, the mountain’s brightly colored ribbons of different hues have quickly elevated this site to must-see status for adventure travelers.

The issue for these two septuagenarians was an arduous, two-hour hike at h...