Peru's Sacred Valley of the Incas

High in the Andes, nestled in among the mountains, the Inca people discovered a wide swath of land so fertile and hospitable, they named it the Sacred Valley. Corn, potatoes, and grasses grew on the terraces cut high into almost every mountain, but down in the Sacred Valley peas, beans, asparagus and other luxuries were cultivated. From Ollantaytambo at the west to Pisac one hundred miles east, the valley is lush with crops that can be grown in any season as long as there is water.

We arranged our trip to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu through Amazon Tours. The owner, Ulla, and Jimmy, our guide for the week, met us at the Cusco airport. After an hour and a half van ride, we started our tour in Ollantaytambo, a living village where people have lived since pre-Inca time. A group called the Quillques occupied the town long before the Incas came to build a temple. The best preserved ruins in Peru, the town is considered by most to be archeologically second only to Machu Picchu. It was here that the Inca army severely defeated the Spanish army and nearly drove them from the region.

The local people around Machu Picchu are mostly Mestizo, a mix of Spanish and native, though they seem to identify primarily with the indigenous Quechua. People from the villages and valleys around this area speak the Quechua language and most speak at least some Spanish. Of course, with all the tourism bringing adventurers to Machu Picchu, they all manage English well enough to sell their goods.

 

We saw two women resting on a stone wall in Ollantaytambo, both in their early fifties. With Jimmy interpreting, we learned that one had walked three and a half hours, the other five hours to come to town for materials they needed to finish up their goods to sell at market. The day we met them, they were resting up before the long walk home. Both wore native costume and sandals. According to Jimmy that's what they wear everyday-not just to appeal to tourists who might want to take their pictures. We were able to convince them to take our coins in exchange for a photo.

 

Ollantaytambo has specific astrological features quite advanced for the time. A stone that recreates the Southern Cross constellation is so accurate that a compass placed on one end will always point north. There's a sundial as well as a Temple of the Sun that the first beam of light falls on June 21st, the winter solstice.

After lunch at the Parakatambu Hotel, a blossoming oasis behind orangey-red walls where the food exceeded our expectations and the grounds are stunning, we took an afternoon train to Aguas Callientes. We took an afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo where a van met us at the station for a two-hour drive across the valley to Pisac. Some tours return to Cusco for a night and take a day trip to the Pisac ruins the next day. The long drive that night gave us more time to spend at the western end of the Sacred Valley.