Valle de Sagrado
It all begins with an idea.
From the comfort of my room at Hotel Andenia, I witnessed the wrath of the Andean gods, who threw thunderbolts at the peaks of the surrounding mountains before drenching the valley with torrents of wind and rain. With my new Stutterheim raincoat and waterproof Lowa boots tucked in the closet, I was prepared for everything the Peruvian Andes had in store for me. And yet, other than a few moments when I captured hail in my mittened hands (delicious to the taste), my entire mid-February adventure was devoid of inclement weather and filled with a spectacular, verdant green.
My guide Eric and I had the trail to Waqrapukara entirely to ourselves with the exception of llamas, alpacas, and the more elusive vicuñas. Bring a fistful of coca leaves and get in shape before you go, as the formidable return ascent will leave you breathless (roughly 15 kilometers at about 13,000 feet). This hike is potentially even more difficult than Rainbow Mountain at 16,500 feet, which offered splendid interactions with indigenous people and international camaraderie on the way to the summit. Reward yourself with a Troglo Birra at day’s end – or perhaps a Matacuy cocktail (the “elixir of the Andes”).
My favorite hike was Sapacto Panorama with the local group La Base Lamay, who offer experienced guides and the wisdom of an indigenous man named Americo. A descendant of the Incas, he would play his flute on a cliffside, then miraculously appear at the top of a nearby vista, then pose by some ancient structure – offering a welcome antithesis to our nonsensical selfie culture.
Spending time in the Sacred Valley opens a path to becoming more attuned to the culture of the Andes and an ancient way of thinking, by Incas, pre-Incas, and their modern-day descendants. Suddenly gold and silver have symbolic rather than economic value as surrogates for the sun and moon that are best left in “ukhu pacha,” or the world below. The syncretism of the Cusco baroque reveals the enemy glorified in ways that are undeserved, with the Virgin sometimes a madonna, sometimes an Incan princess. Dualism permeates throughout and leads to reflection on polar forces: male and female, mountains and valleys, the right and wrong of our own given moment.
Here’s my photo essay on Valle de Sagrado.