Cuzco & the Sacred Valley - Peru - page 439

scenery, and the trip finishes with a couple of gentle floating days in the rainforest. Tapirs,
capybara, caiman, giant otters and jaguars have all been seen by keen-eyed boaters.
Rivers further from Cuzco are days away from help in the event of illness or accident.
It's essential to book a top-notch outfitter employing highly experienced rafting guides
with first aid certification and knowledge of swift-water rescue techniques.
Mountain Biking
Mountain-biking tours are a growing industry in Cuzco, and the local terrain is superb.
Rental bikes are poor quality and it is most common to find rígida (single suspension)
models, which can make for bone-chattering downhills. Good new or second-hand bikes
are not easy to buy in Cuzco either. If you're a serious mountain biker, consider bringing
your own bike from home. Selling it in Cuzco is eminently viable.
If you're an experienced rider, some awesome rides are quickly and easily accessible by
public transport. Take the Pisac bus (stash your bike on top) and ask to be let off at Abra
de Ccorao . From here, you can turn right and make your way back to Cuzco via a series
of cart tracks and single track; halfway down is a jump park constructed by local aficion-
ados. This section has many variations and is known as Yuncaypata . Eventually,
whichever way you go, you'll end up in Cuzco's southern suburbs, from where you can
easily flag down a taxi to get you home.
If you head off the other side of the pass, to the left of the road, you'll find fast-flowing
single track through a narrow valley, which makes it difficult to get lost. It brings you out
on the highway in Ccorao. From here, follow the road through a flat section then a series
of bends. Just as the valley widens out, turn left past a farmhouse steeply downhill to your
left and into challenging single track through a narrow valley, including a hairy river
crossing and some tricky, steep, rocky, loose descents at the end, reaching the village of
Taray. From here it's a 10-minute ride along the river to Pisac, where you can catch a bus
back to Cuzco.
Many longer trips are possible, but a professionally qualified guide and a support
vehicle are necessary. The partly paved road down from Abra Málaga to Santa María ,
though not at all technical, is a must for any cyclist. It is part of the Inca Jungle Trail (
Click here ) , offered by many Cuzco operators. Maras to Salinas is a great little mission.
The Lares Valley offers challenging single track, which can be accessed from Cuzco in a
long day. If heading to Manu in the Amazon Basin, you can break up the long bus journey
by biking from Tres Cruces to La Unión - a beautiful, breathtaking downhill ride - or
you could go all the way down by bike. The outfitters of Manu trips can arrange bicycle
rental and guides. The descent to the Río Apurímac makes a great burn, as does the jour-
ney to Río Tambopata , which boasts a descent of 3500m in five hours. A few bikers at-