The Sacred Valley lies about 9 miles north of Cusco, along the Urubamba River. There are a number of archeological sites and villages around the valley, and one could spend days or weeks exploring the area. We didn’t have weeks, so we arranged a full day bus tour.
The first stop was on the side of the road next to some farm land. We were very confused. Initially the tour guide began to entertain us by discussing the hundreds of different kinds of potatoes and corn they grew in the area, but that didn’t last long. Had our van broken down? We heard our driver and guide discussing the issue and using the word taxi. Were they sending a group of taxis for us? After a few minutes a taxi pulled up with an older Australian couple in it. I suppose they missed the initial pick up. This wouldn’t be the last time we were waiting for them.
The first planned stop was this lookout over the Sacred Valley where we took a few pictures and enjoyed the scenery.
The next stop was Pisac, which is both the name of the town on the Urubamba River, and the name of the Incan ruins 2.5 miles up the steep mountainside above the town. Lucky for us the van took us right to the ruins and we didn’t have to walk up the mountain. The primary feature of the ruins is the agricultural terraces that sweep the mountainside. Our tour guide began to explain to us the different construction techniques and how the more elaborate masonry was used for more important features.
After lunch we made our way to Ollantaytambo. If you are paying attention, the Incan and pre-incan people of Peru were big on building cities on mountainsides. This means two things, terraces and stairs, lots of them.
It was mid afternoon by the time we reached Ollantaytambo, and the sun had begun to retract behind the ruins, so we didn’t get many good pictures. You’ll have to take my word for it, this was the most impressive archeological site we had visited yet in Peru.
The last stop on our whirlwind tour of the Sacred Valley was Chinchero. This small town, 12,000 feet up in the Andes, is a fairly typical town where women still practice the traditional methods of dying and weaving. We received a demonstration of the dying process which was particularly interesting. They use a root to create a soapy solution which turns the Alpaca from a light brown to nearly bright white. They then use a variety of different plants and other items to die it a wide range of colors. I think the most impressive was the red die, which comes from the blood of an insect that grows on plants locally.
It was late when we arrived back in Cusco. We went straight to bed as the next day had another big adventure in store for us.
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