Peru-sing Through the Sacred Valley

Today was a “free” day on our schedule, so after a delightful breakfast at the Tierra Viva Hotel in Urumbamba, we followed the advice of yesterday’s guide and called a taxi to take us to Ollantaytambo.

The ride up to the town was on a bumpy, narrow dirt road (typical of what we’ve found in rural Peru) which transitioned into a bumpy, narrow cobblestone street with a channeled stream running along side the road. We saw a local man and his son washing a car using buckets of water from the “canal”. We were soon stopped still in a traffic jam, and after sitting for 5 minutes, we decided to get out and walk the rest of the way to the Town plaza.

Here’s a taste of what one of the smaller streets in the town is like:

As we should have expected, there was a big celebration taking place in the square, and they had stopped traffic until the parades were finished. Most notable though, was our first glimpse at the Town square and the immense Ollantaytambo ruin that frames the backdrop of the Town. The layers of 17 terraces is the first thing you see when you arrive in Ollantaytambo. This grouping of terraces is located on the side of the mountain and is large enough to distinguish from a great distance. You can see the terraces behind the buildings in the photo below.

Many locals, dressed in traditional Peruvian clothes, watched as different groups paraded through the square.

After perusing the square, we walked to the Archeological Park to explore the ruins. The steps are very steep … good training for our upcoming trek!

The photo in the upper right of the collage above is Scott standing in front of what remains of the Temple of the Sun. The huge stones each weigh over 60 tons! Again, it’s hard to imagine how they were carved and transported to the site. It’s no wonder they survived the ransacking by the Spanish…no one was moving these stones!

In the center photo on the right in the collage, Gayle is sitting at the Zona Military (Military Zone), which is at the very top of the ruins. Ollantaytambo served as an access point to the Sacred Valley, as it is a mandatory passage to Machu Picchu, and was considered a strategic military point. This place was vital in the Incas' fight against the Spaniards during the conquest, as they managed to stop the Spanish cavalry by flooding the fields around Ollantaytambo. Although Ollantaytambo was eventually conquered, the Spanish never found Machu Picchu…but that is information for another post!

As you can see in the video below (shot up in the Zona Militar), the practice of channeling water that we see used today throughout the Andes is founded in ancient design.

In addition to channeling water for drainage, the Inca used their expertise in hydraulic engineering to move water to temples and other sacred places. The Bath of the Ñusta or Bath of the Princess is a beautiful fountain with three water outlets running parallel to each other.

After exploring the remaining grounds, we headed back to the town plaza and found some shade for people-watching.

It wasn’t long before Christina, a local woman from the highlands, made herself comfortable and wouldn’t leave until we bought some woven bracelets! We are wearing them during our time in Peru, and they will become gifts for the grandsons!

If you look up the history of Ollantaytambo, you find it was built in the late 15th century and has some of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in South America. A number of the existing homes are built on Incan foundations.

It’s no coincidence that references to when the different Incan ruins were built all go back to the 15th century. When studying up for this trip, we learned that the empire only lasted about 135 years! We find it remarkable that they built so many monumental structures, with incredible precision, in such a short amount of time (and in such a harsh environment).

Here’s a bit more in depth information, compliments of Wikipedia, for the history buffs out there:

“From 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America, and were the largest empire in pre-Colombian America. The Incas resided on the Andean Mountains, and used conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods, to build the empire. At its largest, the empire joined modern-day Peru with what are now western Ecuador, western and south-central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, the southwesternmost tip of Colombia and a large portion of modern-day Chile, forming a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia. Its official language was Quechua.

The Inca civilization rose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century. The Portuguese explorer Alexis Garcia was the first European to reach the Inca Empire in 1524. Later, in 1532, the Spanish began the conquest of the Inca Empire, and by 1572 the last Inca state was fully conquered.

The Inca Empire was unique in that it lacked many of the features associated with civilization in the Old World. The anthropologist Gordon McEwan wrote that the Incas were able to construct "one of the greatest imperial states in human history" without the use of the wheel, draft animals, knowledge of iron or steel, or even a system of writing. Notable features of the Inca Empire included its monumental architecture, especially stonework, extensive road network (Qhapaq Ñan) reaching all corners of the empire, finely-woven textiles, use of knotted strings (quipu or khipu) for record keeping and communication, agricultural innovations and production in a difficult environment, and the organization and management fostered or imposed on its people and their labor.”

Although we were completely taken with the charm of Ollantaytambo, we decided to hail a cab and try out a local brewery we’d read about.

The Cerveceria del Valle Sagrado is a locally-owned brewery that uses the fresh, locally available wheat and barley to create high quality craft beer. With a focus on sustainability, they also ensure that the fruits, coffee, cocoa, herbs, etc. that they use in their beers come from local farmers in the Cusco region. They offered a full service food menu and a lively atmosphere on the banks of the Urubamba River where locals mixed with tourists to relax and enjoy the scenery and great beer!

With 10 local brews on the menu, we made an afternoon of it and sampled them all. Scott’s favorite was the Inti Punku. We had a great time watching the locals enjoying an afternoon at the brewery. We also had a delicious chorizo/potato/cheese plate that was plenty of food for us both for lunch! Please note, the picture of the bottles lined up was purely decor…we didn’t drink all those beers!!

We returned to our hotel in the late-afternoon, having made the most of our “free” day! We then enjoyed our first dinner at the hotel restaurant, the Suno Restaurant and Bar. Wow! The food was phenomenal, and we couldn’t pass on the chocolate cake for dessert!

Gayle had the local favorite Crispy Pork Belly, and Scott couldn’t pass up the Chicken Alfredo.

Day 2 of our Peruvian adventure is now in the books! We are loving the history, culture and people of this country, and looking forward to the remainder of our time here!

For our previous post about our arrival in the high-altitude city of Cusco, once the Incan Capital of Peru, go here.

For the next post about touring two ancient Sacred Valley sites, go here.