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We had such a good experience with Javier, Phil and I decided to take his Southern Valley tour. The tour of the Southern Valley involving visits to Tipon, Pikkillaqta and Andahuaylillas, lesser visited sites on the normal tourist route.
As we made our way, Javier pointed out the different small towns that specialized in various foods. One town was known for pork, another for breads, another for guinnea pig. Then he pointed out a lake, very rare in this area...this town was know for duck.
Tipon is a stunning example of Inka engineering used as a temple to water and agriculture. The site was probably used as a laboratory of agricultural products because of the various micro-climates found within the complex. (Inca developed some 8,000 different kinds of potatoes) Besides being an archaeological complex, the site is one of the largest irrigation works in the terraces, with a great distribution of outdoor water channels. Water rushes through the channels, and the wide terraces are in perfect working condition. Additionally, Javier shared all the symbolism portrayed in the sizes and shapes of the various components.
Pikillaqta, meaning flea town, is a pre inka or Wati site. It was
built around 800 years before Inka sites. The site covers an area of nearly 2 square kilometers, including an enormous rectangular enclosure with hundreds of separate rooms, some small and plain, some large enclosures and compounds, some richly decorated. Some of the rooms contained human remains, and based on that, Pikillacta is thought to represent a ritual facility for the practice of ancestor worship. One of the most interesting aspects of Pikillacta is the hydraulic works that connect the water resources of the site to terraces and cultivable fields in the Lucre Basin, including canals, reservoirs, causeways, and aqueducts.
Andahuaylillas's 17th century chapel is described as “The Cistine Chapel of South America.” It is interesting that when the Spanish tore down all the Inca buildings, they rebuilt on the Inca foundations. The people found ways to continue there worship by hiding various elements of their belief in the Spanish churches paintings, etc.; you can always find sun, moon, stars represented somewhere. Painting on the walls also clearly indicated their after life belief was for the common people to go to heaven, while the wealthy were on their way to underworld. (photos were not allowed, so I snagged a couple
from Google)
A frequent conversation, how did the Inca do all the construction, and were extraterrestrials involved? Curiously, adjacent to the church is a museum of extraterrestrials. A strangely shaped head- almost as big as its 50cm (20in) body - has baffled anthropologists. It was one of two sets of remains found in the city of Andahuaylillas The mummified elongated skulls could finally prove the existence of aliens.
As we headed back to Cusco, we suggested we stop in Lucre to try a meal of duck. The restaurant seemed to be set in a large garden. It was Peru's Labor Day, so the restaurant was very crowded with families. Kids were playing in a garden pool, small tents were being set up, and kids were playing a game of futball. The management recognized it was taking too long to prepare the meal and started providing pisco sours.
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