The Sacred Valley of the Inkas

From Cusco it takes 2h to get to the Inka towns Pisaq and Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley on the way to Machu Picchu. As the Inkas believed in three worlds, the upper world (represented by the bird), the world on earth (reptesented by the Puma) and the underground world (represented by the snake), the symbol of these animals are even found in the former shape of the city. Therefore, as their capital city, Cusco should have had the shape of a Puma. Pisaq and its terraces, in contrast, is supposed to have the shape of a bird.

For agricultural reasons, the Inkas tracked the sun coming through the hills and even shaped the buildings and hills around them accordingly. They observed the stars and knew about floods and earthquakes. They prepared their cities for that by creating walls in a loose way and having canals leading the water down the hills. Pretty impressive also (especially in the last picture), that you can indeed find faces and ornaments in the hills around that are supposed to protect the city from the evil.Read more