Cusco, Sacred Valley and the Incas.

After a busy few days it is good to have some downtime this morning, Friday. First impressions of Cusco were great. To give a bit of background of the city we took the following from our guidebook.

According to legend, in the 12th century, the first Inca (King), Manco Capac, was ordered by the ancestral sun god Inti to find the spot where he could plunge a golden rod into the ground until it disappeared. At this spot, deemed the navel of the earth, he founded Cusco, the city that would become the thriving capital of the Americas’ greatest empire.

We wandered around the mainly cobbled streets, found the market which as ever was very interesting and sold everything. It is by far the busiest place for tourism we have visited to date. A lot of people, similar to us, arrive in Cusco to go on to Machu Picchu.

We sat in upstairs cafe on the square and had a front seat view of a parade with dancers and music. These happen all the time.

In the afternoon we joined a small party for a tour of the city and the mountains surrounding it. Firstly, we visited the Cathedral, the construction of which started in 1559 and took almost a century to build. There was an abundance of gold and silver which are mined locally. The statues had ornate costumes and these are changed regularly. The local football team had sponsored one outfit.

We then went to Qorikancha. This is renowned for some of the best examples of Inca stonework. The Inca stonework is remarkable and we have seen a number of examples of it, both in Cusco and the following day. Enormous blocks of stone form walls. These blocks are joined like Lego with no mortar to hold them together. They are built at a slight angle and despite the number of earthquakes over the centuries they have withstood all of them. Considering they were built so long ago in the 16th century it is a staggering achievement.

We then boarded a minibus to go up into the mountains and visited Saqsaywaman, Q’Enqo, and Tambomachay. On the way up the mountain we saw their version of Christo Redentor which is called Christo Blanca and is much smaller but still impressive.

Saqsaywaman (pronounced as Sexy Woman by tourists) was incredible. The photos don’t do it justice so it is hard to appreciate how immense the stones are.

In the evening we had dinner at Cicciolina’s a highly rated restaurant in Cusco. Audley, our travel agent, had booked this for us with their compliments for being regular customers. The food was amazing, as always in Peru. We had a good conversation with an American couple at the next table who were from Wisconsin. As always, when talking to Americans, interesting to hear their view on Trump and American politics.

We had an early start Saturday morning and joined a small group tour through the Sacred Valley. We saw several familiar faces from our tour the previous day. Our luggage came with us as we are staying in the Sacred Valley prior to going to Machu Picchu tomorrow.

The Sacred Valley which runs through the Andes was held very dearly by the Incas. The fertile land alongside the river Urubamba is home to vast fields of crops, including potatoes, barley, and maize. This river, unusually flows from south to north, starting in Chile and flowing, eventually into the Amazon. We took many photos but these, once again,do not do justice to the enormity of the valley and it’s beauty. Our first stop was in Pisac where we saw the Inca terraces above the town. Incredible. The town itself is quickly becoming a Mecca for tourism. Pisac was famous for its market but has now been taken over with many stalls selling fake alpaca clothing.

Since arriving in this area we have been more harassed by local women and young children trying to sell bits and also photos of them with baby alpacas. This is so cruel as the baby alpacas are taken from their mothers at 2 weeks old and not fed properly. In some areas the bigger alpacas and llamas are dressed up with silly hats and sunglasses. Not good.

On leaving Pisac we headed to Ollantaytambo. We stopped about 20 minutes from town for an excellent buffet lunch in a beautiful setting. There were many other tour groups here but didn’t feel crowded.

After lunch we headed to Ollantaytambo to see the amazing Inca ruins here. Each time they get more impressive. We walked up 247 steps of the terraces to near the top. The views were amazing. You could see examples of earlier settlements, pre Inca. The Incas didn’t like to destroy previous settlements because they could learn and develop from it, unlike the Spanish who destroyed everything when they arrived here.

We checked into our hotel about 5 and are here for two nights prior to our train journey to Machu Picchu on Monday. We are very close to station and hear the trains hooter regularly. Fortunately, it is quiet overnight.Read more