Epic ride yesterday from Nazca to Cusco . Best riding I have had since Colombia. Just loved the full day of riding!

out of Nazca headed for the mountains!

My day started riding up several thousands of feet…….

Blue sky as I continued up to higher elevations!!

and of course lots of Llama’s and Alpaca’s (and other animals).

so many along the road….

Not much traffic except a few trucks as I crossed the high plains ……. For my PNW friends, was riding for hours over the height of Mt Rainer, and 3,000 feet over Mt hood. Was spectacular in my book!!

Snow capped Mountains in the distance, lakes. Of course it dropped to 48 degrees and some wind, but was a ride that the pictures do not even capture!

………. More later on this great day of riding!

UPDATED TODAY

Few more Photos from Hwy 26/30 to Cusco

As I said it was a 400 mile day which I have not done down here yet as there is too much to see and do, but this road was a great ride across the high plains and then down into the river canon to Cusco.

Love the way they cut Mountain roads and ones that travel along the rivers. Fantastic!

I was moving along since I knew it was a long day. Enjoyed the brisk pace and just watching the scenery as I went!!

Some of the ride was blasting along the high plains….. over 13,000 – 14,000 feet. Was about 48 degrees on the top then heated up as I rode into a few of the canons.

I found it a beautiful and great motorcycle road!!

The photos do not do the vastness and expanse of mountains and sky justice. Really!

Stopped in one of the towns to keep hydrated. Really important at high altitude!!

The geology and rock formations changed many times. was really interesting!

This valley was amazing you can sort of see the switchbacks below….. You drop several thousand feet in a hurry. Roads were wide open except a few trucks…

Quite a few toll roads….. As a motorcycle you do not need to pay, but it is always a bit strange since there is no big sign or place that tells you to just go around. At one toll both within an hour of Cusco, a guy in the building that is attached to the toll booth, just flagged me to go to the other side of the road and go around. Had a big smile as I circled around, cross the street went around the cones and passed the toll area. Funny.

Dropped down along a river and huge rock walls.

dropping down and down again toward Cusco. I knew I would be getting there right at dark…. which I normally try to avoid, but set a reservation in Cusco and knew I would be taking a break there for couple weeks so made sense to get there!

more rock walls….

Some changing colors very cool!

Blasting along the river as the road was cut through the rocks.

Some fires burning along the mountains…

As I passed through Abancay then up the steep switchback and another 14K pass….. the sun was going down quick, temps were dropping. But I was smiling the whole way!

Rolled into Cusco just after 6PM and it was dark. The GPS actually took me within a block of the hostal that I had booked. They were expecting me, had garage space !! Was a great day, now looking forward to some down time in Cusco and exploring the sights, learning some more spanish and seeing Machu Picchu. It is a real tourist destination….. but it will be fun for a couple weeks !