Abancaycito...
It's a small city in the valleys in Highlands. Always sunny. So peaceful... If you are looking for adventure, you have to do the Choquequirao trekking. It's amazing. I haven't done it... yet ;) Does anyone want to join me?
Abancay had always been in my list of destinations, but never couldn't find the time to do it. This time my mom had to go there because of business, so I decided to join her. She was born there, so it was great to know her home town. I felt so ashamed I haven't done that before.
We flew from Lima to Cusco and then took a "colectivo" to Abancay. A "colectivo" is like a taxi, but you will share it with 2 other people. We could have done it by bus, but by the time we arrived to Cusco, the buses have already left. Anyway, the drive took about 4 hours. It was a long drive, but the scenery was so beautiful. You could see, how everything was changing. I mean. Abancay is in a valley, so you notice you were going down and everything looked "greener" and full of flowers. Also the weather was really good! All the flowers were blossoming and the warm weather was perfect.
She had a meeting with the major at the city hall. The major was a really nice guy. He also gave us a drive through the city - which is small - and the countryside. All the landscapes are just amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. He told me I have to come back for longer and visit all the attractions the area can offer.
We stayed there just for 2 days. So I didn't have much time to visit the attractions. It was so good visiting the town and listening to my mom, while she was telling me how it was when she was a little girl. I have to go back, that's for sure.
Abancay is a small city. There is a good offer of places to stay, but the one the local would recommend the most for tourists will be this one.
They are well located, just a couple of blocks away from the main square. The building is nice and sort of charming. It's an old colonial house.
The staff is friendly and keep it clean. They have big salons, where some events are organized.
They don't have many amenities, but there are tons of cyber cafes just crossing the street. They have a good restaurant and breakfast is complimentary.
The bedrooms are nice and clean, same as the bathrooms. They aren't luxurious but are comfortable enough.
And one of the things I liked the most was the friendliness of the staff, always ready to help you.
In order to visit Choquequirao, you have to do a 5 days long trekking, leaving from Abancay, but first is arriving to Abancay.
You can't reach Abancay by plane. You have to do it by bus. The most common way to go there is from Cusco.
Once you arrive to Cusco, just go to the "Paradero a Abancay" (Stop to Abancay), there you will find buses and taxis which can drive you there.
The buses leave every 1 or 2 hours, depending on how busy the day is. In the other hand the taxis will leave as soon as you need. You can take a taxi and share it with other people to split the cost.
The journey lasts about 6 hours by bus and although the highway is much better as it used to be, it could be a bit bumpy, so a bus might be more comfortable than a taxi which will be faster. In our case we took a taxi to Abancay, because we were in a hurry. If you arrive early to Cusco, you can be in Abancay by noon. But in our way back, we had plenty of time, so we took the bus and relaxed.
The landscapes and scenery you are able to see are really beautiful, the valleys, small villages and there's a small area called "Curahuasi" famous for its anise and you will notice you are close to it, due to the sweet smell...
Either if you take the bus or the taxi, be sure to have a snack with you and of course have your camera ready to take pictures of the lovely views.
