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Published: October 21st 2007
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DAY 18: OLLANTAYTAMBO, CHINCHERO, MORAY AND MARAS
I can’t remember if I set the alarm clock the night before to see the winter solstice ceremony, but in any event I didn’t wake up at 4:00 a.m. After writing some notes and taking a shower, I went to the hotel’s restaurant and enjoyed their huge buffet.
I left the hotel without having a clear idea of what to do. When I arrived at the main square, I decided to hike the hill that is in front of the Ollantaytambo Ruins because on this hill are four Inca buildings. I had to ask some natives about the starting point and after a while I found a small sign saying “To Pinkuylluna.”
From the hill, I had a great view of the Ruins and town of Ollantaytambo. Some researchers say that the Ruins of Ollantaytambo have the shape of a Llama and at the top of the Ruins (or at the head of the Llama) is located the Temple of the Llama. It is said that the Incas knew that the winter started when the sun hit directly on the part of the Ruin called the eye of the Llama.
The small trail was not very well-defined, so I had to guess where to go a few times. While I was going up, I passed through a small building and talked to some people who were working on the buildings’ maintenance. On the mountain there are three other buildings in different locations. These buildings had been used to store food during the Inca Empire. I was not able to reach the tallest building on the top of the hill because I could not find the trail and the hill was hard to climb. Before going down I decided to visit the last building that was at the other side of the hill. Going there was fun because the trail was so narrow in some sections that I could not put my feet together. Once there, I just went down the hill and walked around the small streets of the town taking pictures. I spent a couple of hours doing this.
Being on the main square again, I decided to leave the Ruins of Ollantaytambo for the next day and look for a taxi to visit the town of Chinchero, and the Inca sites of Moray and Maras. One taxi
driver told me that he would charge me US$ 40.00 for this excursion, which would take about five hours, so I accepted.
The first stop was the town of Chinchero. The entrance ticket costs US$1.50. When I arrived at the main square, I just could not believe the view before me—the striking contrast among the blue of the sky with the brown of the Inca walls, the white of the colonial church and the terraces in the mountain. The small church is an art piece in itself because of all the beautiful paintings, sculptures and hand-carved wood that adorn the inside of the building. Chinchero is located 18.75 miles from
Cusco City while Ollantaytambo is located 50 miles from it.
Then we took a rather primitive road in order to go to the agriculture genetic center of the Incas called Moray. On the way we passed a lot of animals walking in the middle of the road—a herd of pigs, cows and sheep—and saw dozens of eagles flying overhead. This was my first time in Moray. I hadn’t expected it to be so big and didn’t know it was carved into the middle of a mountain—at least
it looks that way. I paid US$ 1.50 to get in and then spent twenty minutes to get to the lowest point by foot and another thirty minutes to go up. Here the Incas improved their products such as different kinds of potatoes and corn. Moray is located 46.25 miles from
Cusco City.
Next we headed to the salt fields of Maras. The view of the fields is just amazing and very different because of the white color in the middle of the mountains. The Incas built a lot of small squares of approximately 6 by 6 or 9 by 9 feet to store water coming from underground. This water contains high quantities of salt, so when the water evaporates, the salt is left on the ground. These salt fields are still in use and help the economy of the natives. The fee to see this is around US$ 2.00. Maras is located approximately 8 miles from Moray. The road between Moray and Maras is primitive.
Travel agencies offer one day tours to Chinchero starting at US$ 20.00 and another one day tour to Maras and Moray for the same price. The tours usually start around 9:00
a.m., but if you get a private one it is possible to start later. The reason behind offering two different tours is because Chinchero is located in the opposite direction of Maras and Moray.
I was back in Ollantaytambo at 5:30 p.m. While I was eating an extremely good pizza at the “El Chasqui” restaurant, a couple of folk singers played native music. After three or four songs, the singers usually offer their CD’s or ask for tips. It is optional if you want to support them or not, so do not feel obligated to tip them or buy their CD’s.
After eating, I went for a walk, and in the main square I started a conversation with Dante, an astronomy researcher from
Cusco City visiting Ollantaytambo to observe the sunrise on the winter solstice. When I told him that I would like to see that, he told me that he would be waiting for me at the entrance of the Ollantaytambo Ruins at 6:00 a.m. (He had a permit to go in at that time.) I told him that I would be there.
Once I said good-bye to Dante, I went to one of two
internet cafes in Ollantaytambo and spent a while tolerating the slowest computer in the world. After that I came back to my hotel with a huge smile on my face because I would be able to see the winter solstice.
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