The Sacred Valley

On Tuesday, May 19, we headed north from Cusco to the Rio Urubamba Valley, known as El Valle Sagrado or the Sacred Valley of the Incas.  We're a little confused about terminology.  One of our guides insisted that the only Incas were actually the kings, some having names that included Inca.  The people were Quechuans (still one of the official languages of Peru).  Others speak of the people of the Incan empire as Incans - we'll have to research this when we get home.

The drive up through the Sacred Valley was very beautiful.  The agricultural bounties of the valley provide much of the foodstuffs for the Cusco area.  Potatoes (over 2000 varieties according to our guide), corn, wheat and increasingly quinoa are the major crops.  Until about five years ago, quinoa was mainly grown for local consumption.  As the health benefits of quinoa became better-known, the acreage devoted to its production increased substantially, as well as its price, and the production of wheat has decreased accordingly.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas

Our first stop in the Sacred Valley was the village of Pisac, at the base of a spectacular Incan fortress.  We bought some local corn topped with cheese from a local street seller, watched empanadas being baked in a traditional oven, and posed with some local women and baby alpacas for a typical tourist photo.

Corn Boiled in the Husk and Served with Cheese and Hot Sauce

Making Empanadas the Old-Fashioned Way

Women of a "Certain Age" with Some Very Young Alpacas

 The cliffs surrounding the ruins of the Inca citadel are honeycombed with hundreds of holes in the cliff wall.  These were Inca burial sites for the unmummified remains of the ordinary people. (Mummification was reserved for the "elites", as they are still called today.) The fortress is surrounded by extensive agricultural terracing, while the position overlooking approaches to  Cusco served a defensive purpose in protecting the sacred capital of Cusco.

Burial Sites Carved into the Cliffs

Extensive Agricultural Terracing for Incan Crops

Am I Holding Up the Wall or is it Holding Up Me?

After lunch in the town of Urumbamba, we moved on to the ruins of the Ollantaytambo fortress.  This site is the spot which is one of the few places  where the Spanish conquistadors lost a major battle.  The Incas held the high ground and rained arrows, spears and boulders on the Spanish forces below, then flooded the low ground through previously prepared channels.  The victory was short-lived however.  The Spanish returned with greater forces and the Incas fled to the jungle.

The Mighty Fortress at Ollantaytambo

 Water Still Flowing Through the 500 Year Old Channel

Shucking Corn and Collecting 1 Sol for the Use of the Public Toilet.  The Toilet Also Contained a Shower.  (Don't Know if there was an Extra Charge for Bathing.)

The last village we visited was Chincero, with the highest elevation, at almost 12,400 feet, of any Sacred Valley towns.  The village is famous for the weaving skills of its women, who dance and sing as they weave yarns from llama and alpaca furs.

Chincero Women Demonstrating Preparation and Dying of Alpaca, Vicuna, and Llama Wools.  The Dyes are From Natural Fruit and Floral Sources

We Were Posing with the Llama, and the Local Women, to Much Hilarity, Insisted on Layering Us with Local Outfits