Sacred Valley, Peru: Exploring the Base of the Andes before hiking the Inca Trail 2015

Our first stop in Peru was in the Urubamba Valley at the base of the Andes mountains. It is commonly known as the "Sacred Valley of the Incas" and is within an hour and a half drive from Cusco. We stayed in the valley to acclimate to the high elevations we would experience during our trek on the Inca trail. Urubamba is at 9,400 ft. We were able to visit several sites in the area and learned a lot about the Inca Empire (Quechua civilization) and their living style, cultural practices, arts & technology, politics, spiritual beliefs and the Spanish conquest in the 1500's.