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Around Cusco there are many archaeological sites to explore and today we were going to have a guided tour of a few of them. Our first stop was Saqsaywaman meaning 'satisfied Falcon'. The site was huge, although what we observed was only about 20% of the structure. The rest was taken down by the Spaniards and used for building materials in Cusco.
Next stop on the tour was the Inca site of Pisaq, perched on a mountain with the colonial village of Pisac below. These Inca ruins were very interesting to wander around, and had amazing terracing down the steep hillside. Pisaq has survived 1,600 earthquakes, and it is thought that the Incas built the site to withstand these, as the walls lean inwards and the doors are shaped to give stability. (Pisaq, Cusco and Pikalarta are all built at the same altitude, are the same distance apart, and are situated in a triangular shape).
We stopped for lunch in Pisac village below, and shopped for gifts in the attractive market. After refuelling we headed to Ollantaytambo. The massive Inca city above the colonial town, has beautiful remains of the temple of the sun, with impressive stonework, including some
very large stones rolled up the hill from the neighbouring mountains. An impressive engineering feat as no mortar was used in the construction process. The pieces slot together like a jigsaw puzzle. The site also has an excellent irrigation system to ensure the crops on the terraces were watered adequately.
We discovered that Cusco old city was built in the shape of a llama, Machu Picchu a Condor shape, and Ollantaytambo is known as a crop city. The fortress above also has a silhouette in the shape of a llama. To the Incas the Condor represents the upper world, snakes symbolise the mind and the puma energy, and thus these animals are used a lot in their beliefs and past history. The town below has a market, where there are very persistent stall sellers, who even try to sell you items through the bus window!
In the evening, those doing the Inca trail remained in Ollantaytambo overnight, and enjoyed pizza whilst the others returned to Cusco. We purchased our walking sticks and snacks in preparation for tomorrow, and resided to our half built hostal.
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