Ollantaytambo

These are spectacular Inca ruins which protected the strategic entrance to the lower Urubamba Valley. There is a temple area  at the top of steep terracing which helped to provide excellent defences. Stone used for these buildings was brought from a quarry high up on the opposite side of the Urubamba river - an incredible feat involving the efforts of thousands of workers. The complex was still under construction at the time of the Spanish conquest and was never completed.

Can you see the Puma face on the mountain?

My son, Peter at the Hostal Sauce where we stayed...Awesome!

View of ruins from our hotel bedroom window

Grain storage houses

Ladies in main square

Truck full of corn with riders on top. View from our bdrm window

Pisac Ruins and Market

Písac is a village in the Sacred Valley on the Urubamba River. There are very popular markets in the village. The area is perhaps best known for its Incan ruins, known as Inca Písac, which lie atop a hill at the entrance to the valley. The Inca constructed agricultural terraces on the steep hillside, which are still in use today. They created the terraces by hauling richer topsoil by hand from the lower lands. The terraces enabled the production of surplus food, more than would normally be possible at altitudes as high as 11,000 feet. With military, religious, and agricultural structures, the site served at least a triple purpose. Researchers believe that Písac defended the southern entrance to the Sacred Valley and the fortress at Ollantaytambo the northern. Inca Pisac controlled a route which connected the Inca Empire with the border of the rain forest.

Pisac Market:

Having lunch at a cafe overlooking the market with some of my housemates

 Pisac Ruins:

My son, Peter, at the ruins in December.

Urubamba River in the background

Very steep steps going all the way down the mountain to the Market in the village.

Farming terraces in the background

In the background are hundred of small round tombs

Narrow tunnel to get to other side of mountain

Rocks carved out for seats

Top of mountain with Pisac village below

Peter and I having an Alpaca burger and Chicha Morada drink(sweet multi fruit juice drink) before heading back to Cusco.

Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley of the Incas or Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, located between Cusco and the ancient sacred city of Machu Picchu. It is fed by numerous rivers which descend through adjoining valleys and gorges, and contains numerous archaeological remains and villages. The valley was important to 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 one of the most important areas for maize(corn) production in Peru. The following pictures are of some of the sites in the Valley.

Parrots in tree at our lunch buffet restaurant

Musicians at our lunch buffet restaurant on the Urubamba River.

My very first Pisco Sour.

Village of Chincheros in the Sacred Valley

Family showing us how they get the colors for the dye

Different colors of dye

Ladies with their handicrafts

House alongside the road

Pisac and Ollantaytambo in separate posts.

Cusco Corpus Christi Festival

The Cusco festival of Corpus Christi is the most impressive in all of Peru. A processional of saints and virgins from all over the region meet up in Cusco and come together in the main square at the Plaza de Armas late in the morning. There, they ceremonially "greet" the risen Christ.