2011.7.5Sacred Valley is a valley along the Urubamba River close to Cusco. It is generally considered to include the area between Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Its mild climate and fertile soil made it the key settlement area, the heartland, of Incas. Through the valley, Incas could access to the Amazon plains and trade agricultural products with jungle tribes. At the time when Spanish invaded the Empire, Incas retreated to the valley for protection.

Many tour companies at Cusco provide Sacred Valley one-day tour to stop at several Inca ruins and markets. We booked the group tour through Llama Path for $20 per person. At 8am, We were picked up in their office next to Plaza de Armas. Before we set off, several people in our minivan joined the Spanish speaking tour in a large tour bus, what left were just two of us plus another American family of 3 persons. It’s almost like a private tour for us.

Out of the Cusco city and passed several rural villages, our first stop was a small market. We bought a Peruvian hat and a pair of gloves. It turned out to be quite useful the next day while I was waiting for the sunrise at Machu Picchu.

A woman weaving a blanket next to the market. Although it was a show for tourists, indeed it takes a lot of effort to complete a blanket of this size.

It looked like that students were practicing dancing in the playground.

Students running to school

Before going to the tour, I had been thinking Sacred Valley as a place that you have to go but nothing exciting, however, when I saw the valley with my own eyes, I was truly impressed by the beautiful and majestic landscapes.

Overlook the entrance of Sacred Valley near Písac

Písac is the first major ruin we visited during the tour. Renowned for its large scale terraces, Písac is commonly believed to be the southern gate of Sacred Valley; thousands of mummies have been found on the cliffs at the back of the ruin; and houses on top of the hill were used for rituals and storing crops – at the Inca time, Písac served at least agricultural, religious and military purposes.

Terraces of Písac ruin can be seen from afar

Beautiful panorama view of mountains from Písac ruin

Thousands of mummies are hidden in these caves over the cliff.

A closer look of terraces at Písac ruin

The market in Písac village is another tourist attraction. Besides clothes, what is more interesting are the farmer’s market and art stands.

Písac village

Andean Clothes and Crafts

Colorful pigments that are all made by nature materials

Exotic varieties of maize (corn)

Weird and not-so-weird fruits

We stopped at a roadside restaurant, named Jacaranda, for lunch near Calca. The buffet was delicious for 20 sol per person and the garden was decent too.

The waitress was a little shy but the owner of the restaurant encouraged her not to step aside.

As we went along the Urubamba River, the elevation kept decreasing. For about another hour, we arrived at Ollantaytambo, which is 2,000 feet (600m) lower than Cusco.

Ollantaytambo was built in 15th century by Inca emperor Pachacuti, who is considered as the most powerful Inca. Under his reign, the Empire’s territory was greatly expanded, several major sites, including Cusco, Sacsayhuamán and Ollantaytambo, were constructed and rebuilt. Ollantaytambo was not only a palace for Inca nobility, but also a fortress that protected the northern entrance of Sacred Valley. After Spanish took over Cusco, Ollantaytambo became the temporary capital of Inca resistance.

Terrace at Ollantaytambo to reach the temple at the top of the hill

Overlook Ollantaytambo town

Wall of the Six Monoliths, each weighs 100 tons, was part of the Sun Temple. Some say the construction was not completed; some say it was destroyed by Spanish.

The stone structures on the cliff were used to store food because the location is cooler and more windy. The carved stone in the shape of the old man’s face is mysterious too.

Incas developed extensive network of roads to connect the empire. The most famous one, Inca Trail, starts from Ollantaytambo. It takes 3 day and 4 nights hike to reach the lost city, Machu Picchu. Hiking the Inca Trail is considered to be one of the life-time achievements. As more tour companies offer the guide service, it is doable today for most of people. Our plan was to take Perurail’s train from here to Machu Picchu in 2 hours, so we had to skip the rest of Sacred Valley tour. Our train was at 7pm and now it was only 4pm. We started wandering around Ollantaytambo’s plaza and market.

It’s getting cold quickly when the Sun is getting low. We sit in a restaurant called Panaka Grill at the corner of the plaza and spent more than 2 hours there. Its ambiance is way better than other places but the food was too Americanized. Too much cheese on the Pizza.

It only took 15 minutes to walked to the train station. There were many people waiting at the gate already. We took the Expedition (Backpacker) Train, which is the cheapest option, to Machu Picchu. It was in fact very clean and comfortable. Water and snacks were also provided. I noticed Perurail let the local passengers in first to take other carriages. I guess it would be less nice but much cheaper.

2011.7.4Cusco is located at Andes mountain range at southern Peru. It was the capital city of ancient Inca Empire. Inca arose in the early 13th century. Within two hundred years, it had expanded its territory to the major portion of western South America and become the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. It is believed when Cusco was built in the 15th century, the city was planned in the shape of a puma. After Francisco Pizarro conquered Inca Empire in the 16th century, The Spanish destroyed most of Inca buildings and temples, replaced them with Catholic churches and buildings in Hispanic style.

We arrived at Cusco at morning from Lima. Maybe because we took the high altitude pills the previous day, we felt little about Cusco’s 11,200 ft (3,400 m) elevation. It was the only day we planned in Cusco, so we started walking around the city once we settled at El Dorado San Augustin Hotel.

Lobby of El Dorado San Augustin Hotel. Free Coca Tea is provided. It is believed that Coca Tea can alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness.

Cusco today is a tourist hub, visitors come here to visit Inca Heartland, such as the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, or route to Lake Titicaca and Amazon Jungles. Cusco is a lively city. Plaza de Armas are always filled with travelers and local people. Countless shops, restaurants, hostels and travel agents at the city center serve 1.5 million visitors every year. The churches and stone arches around the plaza are reflections of Spanish influence. Their graceful shapes, elaborate facade, colorful wooden balconies and red-tiled roof make Cusco a very picturesque city. The only complaint we have is its air pollution from old cars during the peak hour.

Plaza de Armas

Spanish style stone arches and wooden balconies on Plaza de Armas

Peruvian women dressed in traditional costumes. They ask small tips for taking photos with tourists.

Iglesia de la Compañía

After having a quick lunch of pizza, we hailed a taxi to take us to Sacsayhuamán. Can be easily mispronounced as “sexy woman”, Sacsayhuamán is neither sexy nor feminine – it is an military fortress of Cusco city at Inca time. When designing Cusco in the shape of a puma, the Incas imagined Sacsayhuamán as the head and its walls in a zigzag fashion as the beast’s teeth, while the city was the body of the animal. The rampart has three-level foundations constructed by meticulously placed stone blocks, some weigh as much as 350 tonnes. From bottom to top, these three levels are identified by three sacred animals, snake, puma and condor. After the Spanish captured Cusco, many walls including three towers on top of the fortress were destroyed. Sacsayhuamán was used as a quarry and stones were taken to the city to build churches.

Panorama of Sacsayhuamán with the city of Cusco in the background.

Overlook cusco from Sacsayhuamán

Besides its military purpose, the complex was used for religious rituals. This tradition continues today – as we visited Sacsayhuamán, it was preparing the event of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu. There were not many tourists at Sacsayhuamán, but at the time we left, we saw several tour groups coming, maybe this is the last stop of the Cusco city tour. At the exit, there were a lot of opportunities that you could take pictures with local women and their Alpaca.

Coming back from Sacsayhuamán, we kept wandering around in Cusco before sunset.

La Catedral on Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas, Cusco

Arco Santa Clara, Cusco

This lovely girl must be stopped by visitors to take a photo on her way back home. Local people often put goods in K’eperina and carry it on their back.

Because it’s the winter of southern hemisphere and Cusco is located within Tropic of Capricorn, it’s already dark at 6pm. Following TripAdvisor’s recommendations, we went to Chicha for our dinner. The word of “chicha” refers to a varieties of beverages in Latin America. The atmosphere was very nice, the food was very good too. I think they might be revised version of Peruvian dishes, but we fully enjoyed them.

Menestro – soup with all the vegetables and grains from Cusco. The green color is from the blended cilantro.

Rocoto Relleno – Hot peppers stuffed with beef tenderloin.

Anticuch – Beef heart and chicken kebabs.

Except Antarctic, South America is the last continent we have not stepped on. After evaluating A (Argentina), B (Brazil), C (Chile) and Peru, we picked Peru at last, not only because of its world-famous landmarks, such as Machu Picchu and Nazca Lines, but also for its rich traditions in culture and food and geographic diversity – the country has sea coast, desert, highland and Amazon rain forest within its 500-square-mile area.

Because we’re going to visit Amazon jungles and the highland at 12,000 feet high, we brought pills for Malaria and high altitude sickness. We also took a Hepatitis A shot, so we would have no worry about taking local food like Ceviche.