My husband and I are going to be in the Sacred Valley and Cusco area next week. We'd like to go to Moray/Moras and the Salineras, but we aren't sure which way we'd like to go. I've seen hiking/taxi cab options, mountain biking, and horseback riding.
Of those options, horseback riding sounds the most interesting, but it's also a bit expensive, and we haven't ridden horses much ( once or twice before). Before we make a decision, I would like to hear from someone who's been on a horseback trip to this area and would recommend or not recommend it.
Thanks to all the helpful replies on my other post, we were able to figure out how many days to spend in the SV, and I added a couple of days of Lima instead of bypassing it altogether.
Horseback riding in the Sacred Valley?
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I don't recall too many reports of horseback riding, probably because so many people just include these stops on their way between Cusco and Ollantaytambo. But there was this one. You can find "Chino" on leaplocal.org. I know that some of the hostals in Ollantaytambo also can arrange horseback riding, I believe Awamaki can also put you in touch for that and other tours.
http://awamakitourism.wordpress.com/tourist-information/
http://www.fodors.com/community/south-america/lcuys-first-visit-to-peru-machu-picchu-iquitos-and-lima.cfm
Thanks for the awamaki website. Those activities look really interesting. And I sent an email to Chino for info.
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We stayed in Olly for several weeks and often saw people leaving on horse back to ride out to the Maras to view the salt pans. Easily arranged from a couple of places in Plaza des Armas in Olly (the one closest to the market entrance seemed teh most popular) Spoke to a few people who had done the ride and most seemed to enjoy it. However, I agree with latin's comments above, it isn't the most exciting trip and mountain bikes would be a cheaper and, IMO the preferred choice.
As for your limited riding experience, same here. I hadn't ridden for about 40 years but thoroughly enjoyed a whole day's riding in the forests giant sand dunes and beaches out of Valparaiso in Chile. Although, I did pay for it over the next few days - I was sore in places I didn't know existed!
When we were in Peru last year, we took a horseback tour with Chino, and would highly recommend him. He is very friendly and accomodating, and speaks english.
We did not go to Moray and Las Salineras because we visited these spots by car when we toured the Sacred Valley, so I do not know what that actual ride is like. Instead we visited the ruins of Pumamarca outside of Ollanta. It was the first time riding horses for both my husband and myself, and we had no problems and enjoyed it very much. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
However, as was previously mentioned, expect to be sore the next day!