The Sacred Valley of the Incas

Friday, June 17, 2011
Cusco, Peru
Considering I had just spent four days hiking the Inca Trail and was in need of leg reconstruction surgery, I'm not sure how I managed to spend all night drinking and dancing, turn up back at the hotel at 6am and be ready for my Sacred Valley day tour an hour later, albeit still drunk.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is a valley in the Andes, close to the Inca capital of Cusco. It is fed by many rivers which descend through adjoining valleys and gorges, and contains Incan remains and villages. The valley was appreciated by the Incas due to its special geographical and climatic qualities. It was one of the empire's main points for the extraction of natural wealth, and the best place for maize production in Peru.

The revered Urubamba River, a pivotal religious element of the Incas' cosmology, rolls through the valley. The Incas believed that the flow of the Urubamba River was tied to the constellations and the mountain peaks, and that the river was the earthbound counterpart of the Milky Way. With the river as its source, the fertile valley was a major center of agricultural production for the Incas, who grew native Andean crops in expansive fields and along spectacularly terraced mountain slopes.

The villages of the Sacred Valley, stretching about 100km from Pisac to Ollantaytambo, remain starkly traditional. Quechua-speaking residents work the fields with primitive tools and harvest salt with methods unchanged since the days of the Incas and market days, although now conducted to attract the tourist trade as well as inter-village commerce, remain important rituals.

Due to my hangover, my memory of some of the places we visited was a bit hazy. Anyway, we visited the following during the day:

- A short stop at a lookout point over Cusco.

- An animal rescue centre, the highlight of which were the three Andean Condors and being able to enter their enclosure.

- Views overlooking the Sacred Valley.

- A visit to Pisac (I think), with ruins and terraces. The Pisac ruins are perched on a hilltop with incredible views of the snow-capped mountains. We also visited Pisac market, a famous traditional market, which was full of colour, atmosphere and tourist tat.


- The main part of the tour was a visit to the temple-fortress of Ollantaytambo with its enormous Inca terracing constructed on the side of a steep mountain, huge blocks of rock perfectly carved and polished (some over 100 tonnes each), the Temple of the Sun, stone water fountains, stairs and terraces, all surrounded by the sacred mountains and Valley of Patacancha and Willoq. The quarry where the blocks of rock were cut is situated on the other side of the valley and were transported via water and an extensive ramp.

- On the way back, we stopped at a local house where we tried some chicha, an alcoholic drink made from fermented corn as it was in Incan times, and saw their guinea pig pen, the Peruvian version of "pick-your-own lobster" at a restaurant.

An early night for all as we had an early flight the next morning to Puerto Maldonado for another (for me anyway) visit to the Amazon rainforest.
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