A hike to one of the most mythical mountains of the Sacred Valley: Apu Pitusiray. In around 4 hours and 1.200 meters of climbing, you will reach the lake Qan Qan, which is the highlight - and also the returning point- of this trek.
Start your day in Calca, near Cusco and Písac. You can reach Calca by colectivo. I started this solo walk in the centre of Calca and soon found out that the first part can easily be done by car. Luckily for me, children from a nearby school aiming to go on a weekend hike recognized me and asked if I wanted to get a lift to the actual starting point of the hike. This saves you about 45 minutes of ascending.
The hike to lago Qan Qan is beautiful but arduous because of the height and the steep paths. Afther zigzagging and climbing a lot, the path gets easier until you find yourself walking in what seems like a vast meadow. Look around and see if you can spot some wild horses or indigenous birds.
This mountain is the most mythical of the Valle Sagrado. Mount Pitusiray is considered to be a solar clock of sorts, and for three days per year, as the sun rises over the peak of Pitusiray, it casts a set of shadows on the peak behind it. These shadows take many forms, including that of an Inca warrior, being consumed by a puma (the puma being an important totem in Andean cosmology). Nobody knows if these shadows were somehow engineered, since Pitusiray doesn’t appear to have been carved, yet the shadows are apparently unmistakable.
