The Sacred Valley

We are officially guilty of doing the Peruvian two-step¹: a few days in Lima and a quick trip to Cusco to pay homage to Machu Picchu. But we are not bothered by labels. As much as we would love to get off the Gringo trail and explore more of indigenous Peru, I would repeat our long weekend to Cusco anytime.

The first thing that hits you when you arrive in Cusco is the thin air. At 3500 m above sea level, Cusco is on the border of high and very high altitude and oxygen rich air is a fantasy. After just 5 minutes of patiently waiting for our luggage to arrive, Bron was already feeling light-headed and dizzy; it is the strangest feeling since you haven’t done anything to justify said dizziness. It is highly recommended to take a rest upon arrival, drink coca tea and lots of water, avoid alcohol and eat soft food. This is exactly what we did! After the 03:30 start, a nap was very welcome. The coca tea is not very palatable so we turned to our Sorojchi, or high altitude sickness, pills. We’re not really sure how much they helped, but we swallowed them everyday anyway.

After our nap we were greeted by our local tour representative and taken to lunch. The city is full of buskers: shoe shine guys, artists, jewellers, children in traditional dress clutching baby Llamas, all in search of your hard earned Soles. We were surprised that they approached us during our lunch on the restaurant terrace, normally eating is a safe zone. We were to learn that they will approach you no matter where you are or what you are doing, you are not safe anywhere. Usually a polite, ‘no, gracias’, is sufficient to send them on their way but not always.

Being bamboozled into holding a baby Llama in Plaza de Armas

After lunch it was time for our city tour. We met at the Cathedral in the main square of Plaza de Armas and our first stop was Qorikancha. A Quechua (the language of the mountain people, pronounced Ke-chew-a) word meaning ‘golden courtyard’, Qorikancha was a temple to the sun god Inti during the Inca time. This temple was the most important one in the capital of Cusco and was literally covered in sheets of gold and filled with golden statues. Unfortunately the Spanish looted and destroyed this temple. The church of Santo Domingo was built on the stone Inca foundations and although the cathedral has been severely damaged by earthquakes, the Inca stone walls still stand due to their sophisticated stone masonry work.

Street scenes whilst walking to Qorikancha

Colonial balconies

The courtyard at Qorikancha

Detail of the buildings

Views from Qorikancha

From Qorikancha we boarded a mini-bus and headed for our next stop: Sacsayhuaman. Pronounced sort of like ‘sexy woman’, Sacsayhuaman was once a religious temple and also a fortress, important for its strategic position overlooking Cusco city. Today only the stone outer walls remain of what was once a huge complex easily able to house 10 000 men with a huge open plaza area, 3 towers on the summit for storage and a labyrinth of underground tunnels. The remaining defensive walls are not straight but zigzag and are arranged in 3 tiers. Cusco, the capital city of the Incas, was laid out in the shape of a Puma: Qorikancha was the belly and Sacsayhuaman was the head, the zigzag walls representing the teeth. There is also an idea that the walls may represent lightning bolts since the Incas worshipped lightning.

The Incas reserved their impressive stone masonry for their important buildings and Sacsayhuaman is testimony to their craftsmanship. It is still unclear how these stone walls and structures were built without the use of any modern technology available today. The base stones are massive, up to 5 m high and about 300 tonnes. How did they carve and move these stones from the quarry 30 km away? The stones interlock perfectly without the use of any mortar and fit so closely that a single sheet of paper cannot slide between them. It is truly an impressive site and so sad that the Spanish used it as a quarry and destroyed many structures to use the stones for buildings in Cusco.

Zigzag stone walls of Sacsayhuaman

Walking up the tiers

Boibs overlooking Cusco city

The White Christ

Woolly Sacsayhuaman resident

Back on the bus, our next stop was Tambomachay. A natural spring was harnessed to form fountains and small waterfalls around a series of platforms and niches set into the cliff. It is believed that the Incas honoured the water deity at Tambomachay making offerings in recognition of water as a key life giving force. Also called the Inca Baths, it is possible that the Incas used this site for ritual washing and cleansing as well. A much smaller site than Sacsayhuaman but not less important.

Tambomachay

Local resident in traditional dress spinning wool

Our final stop for the day was Qénqo, pronounced a bit like Kenko in Quechua. Although this is quite a large site of 3500 m² comprising of a type of astronomical observatory, a zigzagging duct, an amphitheatre and the chamber of the dead, we only saw the part of the zigzag duct and the chamber of the dead as it was already sunset when we arrived. The chamber of the dead is sort of like a cave with a stone slab inside all carved from one rock. The rocks outside are warm to the touch but this stone slab is quite cold all the time. It is believed that this was used as a place of sacrifice and/or for embalming the dead. On the side of the stone are channels in the rock where the animal blood or sacrificial chicha (corn beer) flowed in offering. Outside the chamber are also niches were offerings were placed.

There was time for a stop at an alpaca wool store on the way back into town for an explanation on how to recognise genuine alpaca products and the difference between baby and adult alpaca wool and of course, for the opportunity to purchase the best quality baby alpaca products. By the end of this first day we were able to breathe much better but woke up in the morning feeling back at square one struggling for breath. Friday was a warm and sunny day and we had high expectations for the remainder of the weekend.

The next day, Saturday, was the day for our tour of the Sacred Valley. We visited Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, and of course a number of tourist markets. Our first stop was a tourist market, and while it was nice to stretch our legs, we would have happily skipped this stop to have more time at the next stop, the Inca city of Pisac. A fully functioning Inca town complete with military, religious and agricultural structures, Pisac was built atop a hill at the entrance to the Sacred Valley on the Urubambu River. Researchers believe that Pisac defended the southern entrance to the Sacred Valley.

(still dry) Boibs overlooking the Sacred Valley 

Yoda Llama and nervous cuy

Cross and two bulls often seen on the top of houses and other buildings in this area, apparently to ward off bad things such as mean mother in-laws according to our cheesy tour guide 

Pisac was the first real Inca city we had seen and we were just amazed at how they were able to build a whole city on the slopes of such a steep hill. It was also our first experience of the agricultural terraces the Incas built on mountain sides, truly impressive. These terraces allowed farming on otherwise unsuitable sloping land and also prevented landslides. Different ecological zones were created by terracing with a temperature difference between the top and bottom terrace owing to the variations in altitude. The Incas used this to their advantage to grow different crops and also crops that would not normally thrive in certain areas. Visible on the hill adjacent to with the main settlement are numerous holes in the hill that were used as tombs, which were subsequently raided by the Spanish and local towns people. We didn’t have a lot of free time at Pisac and chose to walk up to the top of the citadel parts of the ruins. We were huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top, but it was worth it for the incredible views of the city and valley below. It is so difficult to describe these Inca cities and our photos don’t do justice to the beauty around the cities with all the surrounding mountains and valleys hidden from view.

Agricultural terraces at Pisac

Stone steps up the hill to the citadel

Pisac is still a town today, not on the steep hill slopes anymore, but still an important town in the Sacred Valley. We stopped here for a look at the local tourist market. All these markets start to look the same after a while: the same alpaca products and Peru t-shirts on sale, girls in traditional dress clutching baby Llamas or cuys looking for a tip for a photo. However, our guide led us to a place where we could purchase fresh hot empanadas and freshly roasted cuy. In the previous Lima blog, we told you that cuy is roasted guinea pig, and we still haven’t been persuaded to try it! We did purchase a fresh hot empanada though, it was filled with cheese and herbs and quite yummy, but the pastry was a little too bread-like. Mayira, you still make the best empanadas ever! Our guide for the day was not the best we have ever had and we felt even less impressed when we saw him enjoying a big spliff of weed and subsequently driving off before checking that everyone was on board and nearly leaving someone behind!

Bron in Pisac tourist market

At the local market cafe. A whole roasted cuy on the wooden slats in the foreground

Justin with a fresh hot empanada

Chicha morada!

The second favourite Peruvian drink, after Pisco Sours of course. Made from purple corn, pineapple, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon, this sweet drink tastes a little different place to place.

The local transport 

After a ~40 min drive, it was time for lunch. A buffet lunch was included in our tour for the day. Buffet lunches can go either way but this one was a real winner. Lunch was really good with opportunity to try many typical Peruvian dishes such as ceviche, alpaca, a good selection of typical deserts and many others. We shared a table with two American couples, one our age and an older retired couple. The older couple live in New York and were just hilarious: very stereotypical Jewish Mom and husband travelling the world together. We identified with the couple our age as they are also living abroad and travelling the world.

After lunch it was back on the bus for another ~40 min drive to Ollantaytambo. Situated at the junction of 3 valleys, close to the point where the Patakancha River joins the Willkanuta River, Ollantaytambo had an important strategic position and is believed to have defended the northern entry to the Sacred Valley. The day had been cloudy so far but after lunch the heavens opened and it rained hard for the remainder of the day. We didn’t let this stop us and we bundled out of the bus for a walk around this interesting town. Described as a living Inca town, the houses and buildings of this city are built on top of the original stone Inca remains. We loved the narrow cobbled streets with a trough for drainage either in the middle or to one side; the Incas thought of everything.

A typical Incan street in Ollantaytambo 

Our guide took us to visit a typical home in this living Inca town. People here still keep the traditional ways, living in extended families and many still believe in the afterlife. There is one entrance off the street and the different family homes lead off from the courtyard. Each family has one or two rooms for preparing food, storing items and sleeping, and there are communal spaces for washing and social activities. Privacy is not very big here. Each family keeps its own livestock, such as a goat, cats and numerous cuy (guinea pigs), which live in the main room. Our guide tried to explain that people here keep cuy much like people at home would keep chickens. The home visit was very interesting and we tried to keep an open mind considering how different it is from what we consider normal.

We chose to brave the pelting rain and climb the 240 steps up this important archaeological site. The stairs go up through the numerous agricultural terraces, which already start at the bottom of the hill, and open out onto Temple Hill. There are many unfinished structures on Temple Hill including the Sun Temple with the wall of the 6 monoliths, a terrace with a half-finished gate which opens out from the agricultural terraces, the Enclosure of the Ten Niches, and some unfinished monumental walls near the Platform of the Carved seat. There is also a funerary section and a middle section with several fountains. From the number of stone blocks that litter the site, it is obvious to researchers that this sacred site was not complete yet and was also undergoing some remodelling. Indeed, a ramp for moving the stone blocks up to Temple Hill is still present as is some stones half way to being placed in position giving clues as to how the Incas built these structures, however, much about their stone carving and building technique still remains a mystery.

Steps up the agricultural terraces

A stone abandoned half way to being placed 

Soaking wet Boibs descending the stairs at Ollantaytambo

On the hill opposite to Temple Hill is the remains of the storehouse where food was kept. Due to its position at the junction of 3 valleys, it is apparently always breezy at Ollantaytambo but we didn’t feel any wind due to the persistant rain. The storehouse was strategically placed high on a hill to make use of this cooling breeze to keep the contents fresh and dry. Near the storehouse is also a face carved into a stone. The face is believed to be that of Wiracochan or Tunupa, a messenger of the creator god the Incas believed in. How did they build the storehouses on such impossible terrain and carve a face into the mountainside??

Wiracochan carved into the cliff and remains of the storehouse nearby to the right

Dripping wet, we all bundled back onto the bus heading for the last stop of the day, a good hours drive away. Driving in this area we saw many houses with red plastic bags hanging outside on posts. This is to advertise that homemade corn beer, chicha, is available for purchase at the house. Apparently it is very popular with locals in the area and each place makes it a little different so you have to find your favourite one.

Our final stop for the day was Chinchero, the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. We were all still soaked and no one on the bus, ourselves included, could motivate themselves to climb up more agricultural terraces in more rain to the plaza and seventeenth century church built on Inca foundations, which is a real pity because it sounds really beautiful. Instead we were delivered to a group of local woman who served us a very welcome hot cup of coca tea and demonstrated the ancient Andean art of weaving. Starting with shearing a piece of wool from a massive fleece, washing it, dyeing it, spinning it onto spools by hand and finally weaving it. This ancient art is passed down from mother to daughter and is a time-consuming process. This is one place we would have been happy to view the goods on offer and perhaps make a purchase but everyone scuttled back to the bus out of the rain leaving us no choice but to follow. It is a pity we didn’t have more time to explore this less touristy town where the people still go about their daily business in traditional dress, but so it goes on these organised tours.

Washing the wool in the foreground and steaming pots where the wool is dyed in the background. Ingredients for obtaining different colours on the left.

Woman in traditional dress weaving 

A wet Justin enjoying a hot cup of coca tea 

We were deposited back in the main square of Cusco in the early evening and were pleased to find warm shelter and a hot meal after a long day on a bus surrounded by 4 particularly grumpy Germans.

Sunday dawned cloudy but with the promise of sunshine to follow. Our local tour representative picked us up bright and early (6:40) from our accommodation and deposited us at Poroy station where we were to catch the train to Aguas Caliente and go on to Machu Picchu! But first some reality. On the way to Poroy train station we saw the result of the influx of people into Cusco city: informal settlements not dissimilar to those found in South Africa. Many people were already up and about and commuting into the city, even this early on a Sunday. We can only imagine the challenges and difficulty of life here.

We were meant to catch the train from Poroy direct to Aguas Caliente station at the foot of Machu Picchu, a journey of about 3.5 hours. However, due to some unknown reason we were all shuttled onto busses for the ~1.5 hour drive to Ollantaytambo. Not my favourite bus ride of the weekend, due to the windy bumpy roads, but we made it in one piece. A friendly local I was sitting next to did offer me some of her sweets and chewing gum though, very sweet.

At Ollantaytambo we boarded the Peru Rail train headed for Machu Picchu. A picturesque journey through the Sacred Valley made even more enjoyable by the sky lights in the train. As promised the sun broke through and warmed everything up. At Aguas Caliente station we caught a bus for the 25 min zigzag trip up a steep hill to the ruins that awaited us. At the top, we met up with our guide for the day and started our 2.5 hour tour. All started well, it was very sunny and even a bit warm. But in the last 30 min the downpour started and lasted for the rest of the day. But we consider ourselves fortunate, it wasn’t raining the whole time and we were able to enjoy most of the ruins in warm sunshine. And the cloud and mist added atmosphere and intrigue to this beautiful mountain setting.

Sky lights in the train to Machu Picchu

Boibs on the train, hooray for sunshine!

Declared a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the ruins at Machu Picchu are important mostly because it is still an intact Inca city. Common belief is that the Spanish never looted this city because they didn’t know it was there. Our guide tried to persuade us otherwise as there is evidence that Quechua people still lived and farmed here and paid rent in kind during the Spanish occupation. Either way, the city was rediscovered by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911. No mummies or pottery or other artefacts are on display here. Most of what was found was taken back to America for ‘study’. After much discussion between the two countries many of the discoveries have been returned to Peru but now reside in Lima.

Our tour started just below the guard house, with views over the entire citadel and Urubamba valley below. So many people had told us how amazing Machu Picchu was and that we have to go see it. We were concerned that people had over-hyped it for us and that we would be disappointed like we were in some places in Europe. We can safely say that Machu Picchu cannot be over-hyped. The postcard pictures do not do it justice. The setting in a mountain saddle and surrounded by so many mountains is what makes this place so special and magical. You really have to see it for yourself. And don’t worry, it will be even better than you imagined.

View over the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is actually the mountain looking down onto this scene from behind the cameraman and Wayna Picchu is the central mountain in this picture. 

If you turn it 90º, the mountains resemble a human face with Wayna Picchu forming the nose

Boibs at Machu Picchu! 

Like any city, Machu Picchu is made up of different parts. There are various temples for worshipping various gods, a palace for the king, housing for the ordinary people, and agricultural terraces to provide food for all who lived and worked here. From the guardhouse we were led down through the Main Gate, through some of the ordinary functional buildings, down to the Sacred Plaza on the western side of the city complex. The Temple of the Three Windows, the House of the High Priest and the Principal Temple can be found at the Sacred Plaza. Looking south-east from the Sacred Plaza is the Temple of the Sun. The only round building in the city, the Temple of the Sun was built over a large polished rock. There are two windows in the tower; the morning sun shines through one window on the day of the winter solstice and through the other on the summer solstice. The finest Inca stone masonry was used for these sacred buildings. All the stones interlock perfectly and no mortar was used. Hallmarks of these Inca buildings are that they lean inward slightly, have rounded corners and a single lintel was used above doors and windows. These buildings are immune to earthquakes but the sinking of the valley has caused some damage and many areas are now cornered off with no public access. Further up from the Sacred Plaza is the Intihuatana or ‘the hitching post of the sun’ and is part of the astronomical observatory. This carved rock pillar was used as a precise indicator of the two solstices and was used to plan agricultural cycles. This was linked with the worship of the sun.

Bron entering the citadel through the main gate

Views over the ruins

The Principal Temple with some stones disturbed due to the settling of the land

Agricultural terraces

Amazing mountain views to be had 

The grassy field of the Central Plaza separates the Sacred Plaza and Intihuatana from the residential areas of the city and Llamas freely roam here. Our tour continued to the Sacred or Ceremonial Rock and on to the eastern side of the city complex. Here we saw many residential buildings such as the group of the Three Doorways. The Incas built three sided buildings with a curtain acting as a door; privacy was not high on the agenda. The only entry way that has evidence of a door is the Main Gate.

Continuing we came to the Temple of the Condor. The Incas shaped a natural rock into the wings of a condor in flight. On the ground is the head and distinctive collar of the condor. It is believed that sacrifices were performed on the stone making up the head. Behind the stone wings is a tunnel and cave, which we did not have access to, and a series of human sized niches and underground is a maze of dungeons. This was apparently a prison complex for offenders. Our guide didn’t tell us this area was used as a prison, which is strange; I found this information while researching for this blog. I suppose it makes sense to have a prison in a city of so many people.

Temple of the Condor. 

Human size niches in the stone in the background?

We made it to here before the rain we had watched coming in over the mountains fell from the sky. Fortunately we were at our last stop of the tour: the Royal Tomb. Carved into the rock underneath the Temple of the Sun, this cave-like room contains ceremonial niches and an Inca cross carved into one wall of the stone. An Inca cross has three steps that represent three levels of the Inca world: the first step is the underworld or death, the second is human life and life on earth, and the third is spiritual plane of the gods. These three steps are represented by the snake, puma and condor, respectively.

The Royal Tomb

We were sad that it was raining quite hard by the time we had free time in the city complex as we really wanted to explore on our own. But memories of the previous days soaking wetness made us get on the bus back down to Aguas Caliente in search of lunch. Then it was time to make our way back to the train station, via the ever present tourist markets, for the long train trip back to Poroy and Cusco.

Views in Aguas Caliente 

Tourist market en route to the train station 

It was our last night in Cusco and time to try the celebrated Pisco Sours! We found ourselves at the Museo del Pisco with its extensive menu of pisco cocktails. When we arrived, there were only two seats available at the bar which we gladly took and were entertained by the cocktail shaking barmen for the rest of the evening. Justin tried the Chilcano Pisco (pisco, lime, ginger and soda) while Bron tried the Valicha (pisco, apple liqueur, ginger, green apple, lime, lemon grass and soda). The barman, Dario, felt bad that we waited an hour for our dinner to arrive so he treated us to a passion fruit pisco cocktail. Somewhere in the middle the live music started and we jammed our way through the evening. We probably had one too many pisco cocktails, the barmen are very heavy handed, but we had a great evening and recommend the Museo del Pisco to anyone looking to try a classic Pisco Sours or something more interesting.

Pisco cocktails!

Shake what your Mama gave ya!

Barmen at Museo del Pisco (Dario on the right) with  all the different kinds of pisco on the walls.

Shake it like you mean it Scoopy! 

Monday arrived and with it, the last day of our tour. We had a couple of hours free in the morning and decided to use the time to explore the town of Cusco. The ‘City Tour’ on the first day was a bit misleading as we didn’t actually tour anything in Cusco apart from Qorikancha and due to the demanding schedule of Saturday and Sunday we still hadn’t seen much of the city apart from the main square by Monday.

We started with breakfast at Jack’s Café. Not much to look at from the outside, but friendly atmosphere and great food awaits you on the inside. Bron had the cinnamon pancakes with fresh banana and strawberries while Justin braved the full breakfast. The portions are massive! The ideal breakfast after a night of drinking pisco. We enjoyed a great meal here, thanks to Shell and Graham for recommending!

Jack's cafe

A mountain of breakfast at Jack's 

After breakfast we found the famous 12-sided or 12-cornered stone just down the road from Jack’s. In the many Inca cities we had visited over the past few days there were many stones with more than 12 sides, what makes this stones so special? When we were passing by and taking photos, an artist was lurking in a doorway opposite willing to share his knowledge with us, for a fee of course. As explained earlier in the post, in the time of the Incas, Cusco had the shape of a Puma. The street with the 12-sided stone is exactly in the middle of the ancient town. Twelve royal families lived in Cusco at that time, 6 in each half of the town. The 12‑sided stone was representative of this and reflected the importance of keeping the balance and including all the families. The stone is still part of the wall of the Museum of Religious Art.

Bron and the 12 cornered stone. Can you count them?

Typical street with Inca stone foundations in Cusco 

The rest of the morning was spent wandering around the town exploring the main square of Plaza de Armas and other squares we had seen in passing over the last few days, strolling through the San Pedro fresh produce market, admiring the many churches and other old colonial buildings with their wooden balconies, appreciating the many Inca walls that are still standing, finally giving in to browsing in the tourist markets, and soaking up the sun along the way.

Plaza de Armas 

Looking onto the cathedral 

Interesting door seen around town

Typical street with balconies in Cusco

Shoe shopping! 

And then it was time to head for the airport, wave goodbye to Cusco and be on our way back to Lima.

We had a really great weekend in Cusco and exploring the Sacred Valley. We highly recommend a trip here and to book an organised tour through a reputable travel agent, although you will wonder how organised it really is sometimes. We booked through Travelmax in Lima but they all outsource to the same tour operators in Cusco itself. However, each day we were on a tour with different people. While we enjoyed chatting with and meeting different people, we would have preferred a Contiki- or Trafalgar-style tour where you have the same tour manager and group of people for the duration of the trip and are able to build real friendships with people over a few days and not just repeat where you come from and what you do ten times. Maybe we are just getting old :o

At the moment we are still in Lima, still waiting for our Brazilian visas to be approved and issued…. Watch this space!

x

¹ http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2013/10-things-to-know-before-you-go-to-peru/