Cusco, Peru on Horseback (May 28, 2026)
Once I checked into my hotel in Cusco, Peru, I did what I always do: I explored the walkable area near where I’m staying. My first discovery was how close I’m staying to Saqsaywaman, one of Peru’s national parks (and a great mountain to hike).
The entrance to this park is just a few blocks from my hotel
Yes, there were a number of stairs made of slippery rock to navigate, but soon I was looking out over the entire city of Cusco from the top of the mountain. Whoa! So beautiful.
The view of Cusco from the top of the mountain overlooking it
At this precise moment, my sister-in-law, Naomi Knies texted me about one of my previous posts. We were texting as I was hiking and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
One side of the mountain I was hiking up while texting Naomi Knies
Right as I was telling Naomi that she would be mentioned in my blog, I met a Peruvian who was selling horseback rides. “The ranch is just 5 minutes from here. I’ll take you and you can see even more in a one-hour horseback ride.” Sold.
I know this was a random stranger, but I blame Felipe, my friend from Colombia. Our original plan was to visit his sister and ride horses, but when the daughter of his sister arrived with her friends wanting to do the same thing, our plans changed and I’ve been thinking I hadn’t been on a horse since last year when Elena was with me. It was time to get back up on a horse and enjoy this beautiful countryside.
And just like that, I said yes to Fernando who took me to the ranch where the horses are kept. 10 minutes after I met him, I was up on a horse and going to explore ancient Incan ruins on a horse. I love how the seemingly random connections materialize like this.
Fernando from Peru once I said “yes” to riding one of his horses
Why hike the Peruvian trails when you can explore on horseback?
What I didn’t do was take a picture of the map Fernando showed me of where we would be going on horseback. All I know for sure is that the first stop was an Incan temple and I only know that because I overheard another guide talking about it. Thankfully, the GPS data on my iPhone pictures confirmed that this sight is the Temple of the Moon.
Temple of the Moon, Peru
And so it went. What I didn’t mention is that I was riding with two gentlemen from China. They didn’t speak English, but had a good handle on their Spanish. Unfortunately, my Spanish isn’t great, but we managed to communicate well enough on our ride together. What I enjoyed was the combination of horseback riding and hiking. We’d ride to a spot, then go for a hike, then ride to another spot and hike again.
Ancient stairs up to an even better view? Yes please!
There was only one problem. I wasn’t planning on going for a ride on a horse when I left my hotel. I also didn’t bother checking the weather. It felt fine when I left so I didn’t bring my day bag with warmer clothes. As we were wrapping up our hour on horseback, I could see the blue sky getting darker. By the time we finished the first few drops of rain were falling. I was able to get onto a bus to take me back to where I started, but unfortunately, as soon as the bus dropped me at my stop, the rain really started coming down.
What could I do, but walk? My large brim hat kept the rain off my head and face, but my t-shirt got soaked as did my hiking pants and shoes. Luckily, the rain didn’t pick up while I was riding – only afterwards. And it didn’t ruin my fun. I used to really dislike walking in the rain. Now I’ve come to appreciate how these rainfalls keep the deep green color of the forests and mountains I love so much. Inconvenient? Yes, but only temporarily. In a short time, I was back at my hotel, dried off and put on new warm, dry clothes. Worth it!
