C & C globetrotting around the world…

We set off on the road to Machu Picchu. We did not do the Inca Trail, but instead took the bus and train through the Sacred Valley. We took a mini-bus (“collectivo”) from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo through beautiful landscape of rolling hills and higher mountains in the background. There were lots of fields for growing maize since the region is an important area for this crop. From Ollantaytambo we took the train to Aguas Calientes, the base village of Machu Picchu. The 43km train ride took 1.5 hours and was very expensive, but unless you do the Inca Trail, there is no other way of getting to Machu Picchu. The train had a glass roof so we were able to enjoy the nice scenery of the valley. The valley progressively narrows and the vegetation becomes increasingly lush. From the train we saw the beginning on the Inca Trail as well as an old Inca bridge.

After visiting Machu Picchu, we took the train back to Ollantaytambo and arrived there at night. The next day we explored this small town before heading back to Cuzco. Ollantaytambo dates from the late 15th century and has some of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in South America. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. The emperor rebuilt the town with sumptuous constructions and undertook extensive works of terracing and irrigation in the Urubamba Valley; the town provided lodging for the Inca nobility while the terraces were farmed by retainers of the emperor. During the Spanish conquest of Peru Ollantaytambo served as a temporary capital for Manco Inca, leader of the native resistance against the conquistadors. He fortified the town and its approaches in the direction of the former Inca capital of Cusco, which had fallen under Spanish domination. In 1536, on a plain near Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca defeated a Spanish expedition blocking their advance from a set of high terraces and flooding the plain. Despite his victory, however, Manco Inca did not consider his position tenable so the following year he withdrew to the heavily forested site of Vilcabamba.

The surrounding valleys are covered by extensive agricultural terraces, which allowed the Incas to take advantage of the different ecological zones created by variations in altitude. The Incas built several storehouses out of fieldstones on the hills surrounding the village Ollantaytambo. Their location at high altitudes, where there is more wind and lower temperatures, defended their contents against decay. It is believed that they were used to store the production of the agricultural terraces built around the site. Grain would be poured in the windows on the uphill side of each building, then emptied out through the downhill side window. We explored the grid-like streets and enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere of the place. Then we hiked up behind the village to the hill of Tunupa to get a beautiful view of the valley. According to local myth, a representation of the messenger of Viracocha (‘The Creator of Civilization’) named Wiracochan or Tunupa can be seen facing the ancient Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo in the rock face of Cerro Pinkuylluna. Viracocha was one of the most important deities in the Inca pantheon and seen as the creator of all things. Viracocha created the universe, sun, moon and stars, time (by commanding the sun to move over the sky) and civilization itself. Inca ruins built on top of the face are also considered to represent a crown on his head. Then it was time to return to Cuzco and finish our visit to Peru.