南美漫遊: Tour from Cusco to Puno 24 May 2015

Take a risk to book for Inka Express

Right before my trip to Puerto Maldonado, I booked the Inca Express bus ride to Puno at 7:00 a.m. on the same day right after getting back to Cusco, noting that the overnight bus from Puerto Maldonado could arrive at Cusco at 6:30 a.m. In case of any hiccup, I may not be able to catch the bus. Well, I rather like to take the risk instead of wasting one more day staying at Cusco,

I got off the bus at 6:20 a.m. and walked very quickly out from Terminal Terrestre. Without second thought I decided not to take a taxi but walked all the way by myself dragging along my luggage. Finally I made to arrive on time and join the tour, yeah !

View of Cusco on the coach

Route of the Sun
The Bus from Cusco to Puno is a comprehensive guided tour that combines a bus tour and short walks to all the major Inca monuments and landmarks of the “Route of the Sun”.

First stop : Andahuaylillas (San Pedro de Andahuaylillas)
Nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, the 17th-century Jesuit church of San Pedro. There are a shimmering gold leaf ceiling, painting of Luis de Riano depicting the paths to heaven and hell, and paintings of the Cusco School of painting Escuela Cusqeña. (However, no pictures are allowed inside)

Second stop - another church, but not sure the name, then Huaro (San Juan Bautista de Huaro) The church has some marvelous 17th-century murals, painted by Tadeo Escalante, and a Renaissance altar among the oldest in Peru.

Qoyllur Urmana before Urcos

Quiquijana market

Third stop : Puente Colgante, near Combapata, 10 km further south from Checacupe, to visit a colonial bridge and a reconstructed Incan bridge as well as the town’s gorgeous church, one of the most ornate in the Sacred Valley. Annually, up to a thousand locals gather on the second Sunday in June to rebuild the bridge using traditional techniques and materials, including ichu grasses, to make ropes for the 33-metre span.

Fourth stop : Templo de Raqchi (Archaeological park)

The site's distinguishing feature is what was the largest roofed building of the Inca, the massive, two-story temple of Viracocha, the god of creation. The adobe walls still standing on their Inca stone foundations are reminders of the giant building that spanned 92m by 25.5m, supported by round pillars, and part of a large settlement with administrative quarters and residential areas, one of the empire's main tambos. Along with the walls, the ruins have ceremonial baths where the water still flows, and an extraordinary group of dozens f oddly circular storehouses called qolqas bunched together.

Then we have lunch at Sicuani. At there, I bought a wool ball (Alpaca yarn) for knitting.

Andean landscape at La Raya, which is 4335m, the highest point along the route.