Top Cusco Cultural Tours: Which One is Really for You?

Thinking about taking a trip to Cusco, Peru? That place is positively overflowing with history and culture. Finding the right tour, one that fits just like your comfiest sweater, can really take your trip to the next level. It’s almost like choosing a dance partner—you want someone who knows the steps and can lead you through an amazing experience. So, I’ve gathered some genuinely cool tours, and broken them down for you, with my own recommendations, naturally.

Sacred Valley Tour: A Whirlwind of Inca History

The Sacred Valley Tour tends to be many people’s initial introduction to the amazing Inca sites surrounding Cusco. That is, you’re talking about hitting spots such as Pisac, with its amazing market and towering Inca ruins, plus Ollantaytambo, that ancient fortress that looks like it was built by giants, which, arguably, it was. Chinchero’s also on the list usually, a spot known for its weaving and the stunning views, naturally. I will mention this as well, though: this tour’s kind of jam-packed, alright? It might be a bit much if you’re looking for something slower or if you are someone who dislikes being hurried from one spot to the next.

Think of this, you see: it’s something like an all-you-can-eat buffet of Inca stuff, is that you just want a taste of everything, alright? Many people take this tour right before doing the Inca Trail, as a means of prepping themselves and giving themselves an overview, okay? Another bonus—the Sacred Valley happens to sit at a lower altitude than Cusco, which often aids in easing your acclimatization as you are dealing with the elevation change and any associated altitude sickness, naturally.

Why this tour might be the very thing for you:

• If you are hoping to tick off a few must-see spots in a day
• If you want to get your bearings around Inca history before really plunging into it
• If battling altitude is something you want to win, basically

The Salkantay Trek: Adventure with a Cultural Twist

Alright, are you the adventurous type, huh? Are you hoping to swap the traditional Inca Trail hike, well the Salkantay Trek could be just the ticket, actually. It’s almost a bit like taking the scenic route versus staying on the highway, alright? This hike takes you up mountain passes (Salkantay Pass hits a height of over 4,600 meters, is that’s definitely a place where you can feel the burn) and, that too, it runs through cloud forests as well, actually. It’s often rated as among the 25 best treks the planet has to offer by National Geographic, alright? It’s, honestly, pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Is that, along the trek, you actually get peeks into local life that many tourists never see, I mean real rural communities? I’m talking people wearing colorful clothing, working the fields, just maintaining a lifestyle that’s basically stayed the same for hundreds of years, isn’t it? Along the way, you get some unique stuff. Are you up to it to participate in a traditional Pachamanca meal, is that? Well, that’s where food’s cooked under the ground using hot stones? Or, what if you took part in an offering to Mother Earth with a local shaman? I would argue these things happen more often on the Salkantay route. So, you see, you will experience it a little differently on this trek.This bit of it tends to have you feeling way more connected with the land and its people.

Why you might just love this trip:

• Are you longing for something quite different than what all of those cookie-cutter tourist packages can offer you?
• Is getting to know the land from a deeper level on your mind, huh?
• Are physical feats and endurance really your cup of tea, or just something you have in you?

Cusco City Tour: Peeking into the Heart of It All

Many people just get right to trekking and think the city isn’t so great, yet I would suggest giving the City Tour some of your consideration, so as that’s a neat, accessible introduction to Cusco’s story. I mean, for people on limited timelines and those that prefer to have an easy tour on hand, then you can see many sites on just one trip. Usually, this sort of tour will check out spots like Qorikancha (that Temple of the Sun whose walls were once coated in gold), Sacsayhuamán (a really big fortress up above the city, okay?), plus maybe a stop to Kenko, alright, which is this mysterious ceremonial site, which has people speculating, frankly, about its past function, isn’t it?

A good guide, like you often get on this, can truly enliven these places with tales of Incan triumphs, Spanish conquest, and then the melding of those different cultures which helped to sculpt Cusco into what we are seeing nowadays, isn’t it? If you tend to enjoy wandering around cool buildings or peeking in at old paintings, you will possibly enjoy Cusco Cathedral as a stop. The thing here that you should prepare yourself for here may be tour groups, ’cause some stops tend to be popular.

Here is why some enjoy taking such a tour:

• For the traveler that likes seeing all the sites rapidly without taking days of doing it
• When you hope to gain your context on that past and how it is related to the moment, today.
• When a lot of walking is something that isn’t the most ideal

Moray and Salt Mines Tour: A Peek Into the Past

Now, do you want to behold things just a bit outside that of the ordinary? Alright, I am saying visit Moray. That place is quite awesome, seeing that its giant terraced bowls are something which make an ideal location in your photographs, is that some even claim it was such an spot in which to perform the tests of seeds, okay? Are you looking at circular terraces going way, way down which, in a way, do not feel like you’re on planet Earth?

Not too far off from this sits Las Salineras, or it might be better known as Salt Mines. I am speaking of some starkly whitewashed salt ponds hugging the hillside? Salt has really been extracted here since Incan times, isn’t it? It is something of an awesome visual thing which has many pondering how entire families will function the same since long, long ago, huh? Anyway, the tour runs for close to a half-day’s length usually, therefore there’s time in getting lunch down in the Sacred Valley afterwards. This is your best choice for combining a lot of scenery to admire, culture and photos, too.

Reasons that people might cherish this:

• Wanting great pics and scenery and vistas.
• The curious wanting insight with techniques found with agriculture done anciently
• You hoping to tour something which stands out.

Community Homestay Tour: Immerse Yourself

Right, for something more getting way beyond tourist traps? The tour that has to do with a Homestay stay would provide real authenticity. The very idea is that you get paired with somebody located at a distant place near Cusco, such as the Andes’ highlands perhaps, that is where, I guess, people commonly open their houses, while offering things like demonstrations, insight, plus meals too. I will offer something that needs being realized here. You’d better check the language! Speak some Spanish or Quechua, okay, seeing as its often vital to gaining meaningful interaction, alright? If getting insight to a distinct culture is a point of real high interest with you then this would offer great worth!

I feel it is crucial to do some thinking over if staying within modest settings would be something that you want to do because, I guess you’ll realize, one can experience limitations. All tours here do, arguably, tend to be highly customizable though, and do involve all sorts of work like, perhaps you might have something along the line of weaving, assisting out when harvests roll about and stuff or simply just enjoying a slower cup of coffee alongside all family located there. When one would hope to offer something to cultures while touring about as you also are gaining a thing as well then it is rather ideal here! You help someone simply just by touring about.

Where one might find enjoyment at tours similar to that:

• Hoping to visit things not just about something superficial?
• Desiring a chance on providing benefits by going about touring?
• Thinking of doing travel that has got a degree of ethics