Visiting Ollantaytambo ruins

Ollantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site 45 miles northwest of Cusco.

Around the mid-15th century, the Inca emperor Pachacuti conquered and razed Ollantaytambo. The town and the nearby region were incorporated into his estate. He rebuilt the town with sumptuous constructions and undertook extensive works of terracing and irrigation in the Urubamba Valley. The town provided lodging for the Inca nobility, while the terraces were farmed by the emperor's retainers. After Pachacuti's death, the estate came under the administration of his family clan.

During the Spanish conquest of Peru, Ollantaytambo served as a temporary capital for Manco Inca, leader of the native resistance against the conquistadors. He fortified the town and its approaches in the direction of the former Inca capital of Cusco, which had fallen under Spanish domination. In 1536, on the plain of Mascabamba, near Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca defeated a Spanish expedition in what is known as the Battle of Ollantaytambo, blocking their advance from a set of high terraces and flooding the plain. Despite his victory, Manco Inca did not consider his position tenable, so the following year, he withdrew to the heavily forested site of Vilcabamba, where he established the Neo-Inca State.

We didn't have long before catching our train to Aguas Calientes, but it was enough time to get an idea of the place. Mark was in quite a bit of pain by this stage of the day, so he stayed at ground level while I climbed the terraces to get a better view.

The valleys of the Urubamba and Patakancha Rivers through Ollantaytambo are covered by an extensive set of agricultural terraces or 'andenes', which start at the bottom of the valleys and climb up the surrounding hills. The andenes permitted farming on otherwise unusable terrain. They also allowed the Incas to take advantage of the different ecological zones created by variations in altitude. The terraces at Ollantaytambo were built to a higher standard than common Inca agricultural terraces. They have higher walls made of cut stones instead of rough fieldstones.

There are storehouses or 'qullqas' on the hills surrounding the terraces. Their location at high altitudes, where more wind and lower temperatures occur, protected their contents against decay. To enhance this effect, the Ollantaytambo qullqas feature ventilation systems. They are thought to have been used to store the production of the agricultural terraces. Grain would be poured in the windows on the uphill side of each building, then emptied out through the downhill side window.Read more