The Sacred Valley, Peru

What. A. Day. It was our first day delving more deeply into Inca culture and history and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect precursor to our eventual trip to Machu Picchu.

Our driver Juan and guide Cesar picked us up at 8 a.m and our first stop was to the Parwa Cultural Centre to feed some alpacas and Guinea pigs and learn about traditional ways alpaca wool is washed, dyed and woven. This facility was a collective of five families.

The methods and materials that are used in the dyes are fascinating - different seeds and herbs and even insects. In fact, the Peruvian shades of red are all from a bug found in cactus! It was fascinating.

From there, we visited a town called Chinchero. It’s an ancient Inca town and includes ruins of the Tupac Yupanqui Inca palace and a Spanish church from 1607. The church is being restored.

Next, we visited Moray, which the Incas used as a sort of agricultural lab with different micro climates at each terrace level.

Our final stop was Ollantayambo, an ancient military, religious and agricultural centre from the mid 15th century. It’s strategically located on a mountain and demonstrates original Inca urban design. We successfully climbed up to the top despite the altitude. (Brad and I have been taken aback by how winded we get climbing stairs in these altitudes.)

You can read more about the Sacred Valley here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Valley

It was a long and exhausting day, so we had a quiet night.Read more