AngellTravels: Day 2--Sacred Valley

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Day 2--Sacred Valley

After breakfast the next morning, we set out into the Urubamba Valley, also known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Our first stop was at a "living museum", Awanakancha. Here we saw a variety of alpacas and llamas and we were able to offer them a bit of food for a close-up experience.

There were also some interesting cultural displays and demonstrations.

Local ladies were weaving, and there was a display showing how they dye the yarn made from the alpaca wool.

Another exhibit showed many of the countless varieties of potatoes and corn that you can find in Peru.

The gift shop had some really nice high quality alpaca items. The weavings were absolutely beautiful.

Our next stop is at the Pisac ruins, which lie atop a hill at the entrance to the Sacred Valley.

Though little is known as to the history of the site before the Spanish conquest, Pisac was probably used as a ceremonial and military center. The site was abandoned and fell to ruin after the conquest in the 1530s.

The Incas constructed agricultural terraces on the steep hillside, which are still in use today. They created terraces by hauling richer topsoil by hand from the lower lands. The terraces enabled the production of surplus food, more than what would normally be possible at altitudes as high as 11,000 feet.

From here we appreciated some of the best views of the terraces of Pisac—there are 500 in total. Corn was grown on the lower terraces, potatoes in the middle, and quinoa grain on the high terraces.

We walk around one of three residential areas in Pisac. It is composed of rough stone buildings, walls with niches, and small squares. These were probably military garrisons and, in the style of a medieval castle, shelter for villagers in times of war.

Embedded in the hillside, is a huge Inca cemetery with some 3,500 tombs, although the mummies are long gone.

Next stop was in the town famous for its Pisac Market where we wandered through the alleys filled with stalls. The vendors were quite aggressive in hopes we would buy something.

We stepped inside one of the stores and saw that they were selling empanadas. To our surprise, we learned about a traditional dish of the Andean cuisine...Guinea Pig.

In a cage was tomorrow's lunch special and in the oven was today's!

We did sample an empanada but we chose chicken instead.

Every house in the countryside harvest guinea pigs in their backyard. We drove by women selling guinea pig on a stick outside their home. It is considered a rich source of animal protein.

Back in Urubamba, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet lunch with some traditional Andean foods, but no guinea pig.

Ollantaytambo is our final stop of the day. It was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. This is where the Incas retreated after the Spaniards took Cusco.

The fortress of Ollantaytambo, originally built for religious purposes, was the site of a major battle, one of the only successful ones against the Spanish conquistadors.

Ceremonial stones

As we climbed the Inca stairs to the top of the fortress of the Ollantaytambo we could see just how large this structure is. The terraces are taller than the average man and much wider than they look from the bottom.

At the top of the fortress is the military area. From here is where the Incas watched for the Spanish invaders. This was a great vantage point, and only when you get up there do you realize how high you are up and how much you can see out to the Sacred Valley.

As we entered the Sun Temple complex, we saw a number of discarded large stones. This uncompleted temple holds the Wall of the Six Monoliths. Each of these stones weighs 50 tons and were brought from the nearby quarry.

As we moved away from the Sun Temple the pathway took us towards Balcon Pata. This is a narrow ledge that leads to two large buildings and more terraces.