Visiting the Inca capital

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Cuzco and the Sacred Valley

Cuzco
Helene and I arrived in Cuzco, the archeological centre of Peru, on the morning of Saturday 14 January after a long night´s drive from Arequipa. Sleeping aboard the royal class bus we saved money compared to staying one more night in Arequipa and taking a day bus, however, the tradeoff is of course a less comfortable sleep. Astrid and Aashild were not with us as they had left Arequipa a couple of days before to visit Puno and Lake Titicaca and were to catch up with us later on Saturday. They have promised to write a journal entry with photos from Puno and Lake Titicaca that I will publish later.

Cuzco is a city with about 350 000 inhabitants. Situated at 3326 metres, it used to be the capital of the Inca kingdom that stretched from the north of Chile to Columbia, covering land from the coast to the Amazon. After the conquistadors colonised the city around 1533, the city now has a mix of Inca, colonial, and modern streets and buildings. Although Cuzco has much to offer, Helene and I decided to spend the Sunday on a daytrip to the nearby Sacred Valley, before starting our trek on the Inca Trail on Monday. Astrid and Aashild were a bit tired from all their bussing around, and decided to see a bit of Cuzco as well as going to Pisac (see below) for a visit to the market.

The Sacred Valley
Our trip through the Sacred Valley, or Valle Sagrado, started by bypassing the famous Inca ruins five minutes outside Cuzco named Sacsayhuaman, which means "satisfied falcon." Unfortunately, its easy access from the city meant that our tour operator didn´t include it for our day trip. Using Sacsayhuaman as a fort, the rebellious Manco Inca used it to lay siege to the conquistadors in Cuzco. Perhaps most interesting is how the Inca managed to collect these enormous stones, one of which weigh as much as 300 tons, from kilometres away!

First stop was the town of Pisac, 32 km northeast of Cuzco. Because it was Sunday, the market was bustling with life. The tourist market offered the usual alpaca garments, such as jumpers, jackets, and mittens, as well as any kind of crafts, whereas vegetables and other foods were traded at the local market. Not being a big fan of markets and haggling, we simply walked around looking, until Helene bought a cheap alpaca jumper for 40 soles (about USD 12) in anticipation of our Inca trek the following day. Alpacas, as well as llamas and vicunas, belong to the camel family, with the vicunas having the finest wool fibres. Compared to the well-known cashmere wool, the vicuna wool has a fibre diametre of 6-10 microns, whereas the cashmere, only at fifth place, is cruder at 15-19 microns. Just when we were about to enter the bus and continue our journey, I realised that Pisac is the home to a famous Inca citadel some 5 kilometres away. Unfortunately, this was not part of the trip either! At this stage I was getting a little frustrated from not seeing any ruins.

Following the Urubamba river through the valley, we had a quick stop to examine a factory producing alpaca garments before we reached the village of Urubamba where we had lunch in beautiful countryside surroundings. A couple of hours later, we arrived at Ollantaytambo. This village by the foot of a mountain is dominated by massive Inca ruins and terraces covering much of the steep mountain sides. Far above the village the Inca stored their surplus crops in their stonehouses to accomodate less fruitful years. Such situated, the crops would last longer due to the natural airconditioning system caused by the winds. In addition, the crops were easier to protect and defend from enemies and easier to distribute fairly among the villagers. However, the ruined buildings did not only serve merely as storage. Constituting a massive fortress, the villagers could leave their homes behind and barricade themselves up the mountainside. In such a position, it would be extremely difficult for the enemy to win the battle, considering the Inca´s superior position above. Lastly, the ruins also served as a temple, with the ceremonial area positioned on top of the terraces. The huge blocks of stones used in the complex were quarried from the mountainside over 6 kilometres away and had to transported across the river before being taken up to the complex! This was an extraordinary feat that surely must have demanded the blood and sweat of thousands of workers. If a block weighed 100 tons (some do!), it would take 2000 men dragging 50 kg each to move the block. It is hypothesised that wooden logs were placed perpendicular to the direction of dragging, and that the blocks of stone would be fitted with two wooden skis, parallel to the direction of dragging, in a manner somewhat similar to the launching or lifting of boats into or out of water.

Our final stop was Chinchero, a typical Andean village containing some Inca ruins and an elaborate colonial church, overdressed with gold and ornaments in the usual Catholic way, all surrounded by marvellous mountain views. We had a relaxed walk around, enjoying the scenery and checking out the church, before we returned to Cuzco about an hour later.

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