Skip Machu Picchu, Go Horseback Riding Instead

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Horseback riding can be a great way to escape the city and explore the countryside. Nowhere is this more true than in Cusco, where you can escape the crowds before or after your visit to Machu Picchu.

When you go riding in the so-called civilized world, the United States for example, you quickly realize how far things have come from the days of the Wild West. Everywhere you go there are fences and gates and places where it's forbidden to pass. Instead of taking a ride in the countryside, you are forced to go down specific designated trails.

There's also the issue of safety or, more accurately put, liability. Unless you can prove yourself to be an experienced rider, you will be on a slow placid mount that has done the same trail day after day and is basically just following the tail of the horse in front of it. Yes, you are riding a horse. But it's kind of like being on a breathing merry go round.

In Peru, you don't have all those fences and you also don't have to pass an equestrian exam to be put on a horse that has some personality. "The Mystic Tour", one of the most common tours sold in Cusco is one that encompasses sites that aren't on the standard city tour and do not require a Boleto Turistico, or Tourist Ticket, necessary for many other attractions.

Make sure that the tour will include the Temple of the Moon and the Balcon del Diablo, the Devil's Balcony. The Balcon del Diablo is a window in a cave through which you can see some running water below. It's a cool structure but that's not really the highlight of this tour. The highlight for me is that there are wide-open spaces where you can gallop.

You won't need to pull out your riding academy ID card for this. Basically, they are going to ask you, "Do you know how to ride." "Yes." "Do you want to gallop?" "Yes." And then you will get introduced to some unassuming looking horse that the guide will assure you is calm and won't give you any trouble whatsoever. That will have some equally unassuming name like Jirafa.

The moral of that story is... don't say you want to gallop if you really don't. And don't say you can ride if you can't or don't have a lot of experience unless you are ready for the Peruvian mountain horse's version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. There won't be anyone to sue if you fall (my horse actually fell in a ditch) but it is so much better than Disneyland.

Cusco and the surrounding area offers much more than the regular Machu Picchu packages. Talk to your travel agent about arranging something a little more unusual, either before or after you enjoy your Machu Picchu tour package.