OLLANTAYTAMBO
FACTOID: Hiram Bingham III was here in 1911 on his way to discover Machu Pincchu - going up the Urubamba that cuts through the Sacred valley.
FACTOID: In the 15th century the Incas were the most powerful and largest empire in pre-Columbian America with Cusco as the capital.
Hiking Pisac
In the morning we were herded onto a bus and taken to the top of the mountain above Pisac. We got off the bus at the location on a citadel that connected the Inka Empire to the eastern edge of the jungle. The group posed for a photo at the beginning of our hike through the Inka ruins.
We were not at the top and from here you could see the terraced hillsides still being cultivated by the local inhabitants.
There were many cutouts and steep passages through the rocks as we proceeded downhill. Some of these cutouts were for water ducts.
There were plenty of nice views of the valley below.
The upper section had the ruins of a sun temple.
We had several stopping points where the guide stopped and explained the history of the area and the ruins.
It was at this point where the guide told us we could either walk back up to the top or continue to the bottom.
At the bottom there was a fast food hut that sold Guinea on a stick.
Urubamba Lunch
On our way to our hotel in Ollantaytambo we stopped at a restaurant in Urubamba.
It was part of a farm that had many llamas. This one badly needed a dentist.
Ollantaytambo Fort
Our last stop before the hotel was the fort at Ollantaytambo.
The rock walls were made of huge stones that fit perfectly…. With none really being squares or even rectangles.
This entire area we explored was the royal estate of an Incan emperor that conquered this area.
These stones were moved from about 30 miles away over animal greased roads and are part of the sun temple near the top. They are known as the wall of the six monoliths.
There were several buildings built on the side of the mountains that seemed to totally inaccessible.
This is a view of the town of Ollantaytambo from the fort. This is in the Sacred Valley.
|