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Published: November 17th 2007
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DAY 19: OLLANTAYTAMBO, PISAC, TAMBOMACHAY, QENQO Y SACSAYHUAMAN
I awoke early and arrived at the ruins of Ollantaytambo in order to see the sunrise. At 7:15 a.m. the sun hit the eye of the Llama, which is a rock inside of a short square wall located at top of the ruins. When the sun hits it, the winter solstice has officially begun. I saw a flash of light hitting the ground inside of the square and another small flash of light heating the ground out of it. It was pretty impressive.
I then walked around the ruins and took some pictures of the Tunupa (also known as the Wiracocha God or the creator). The Tunupa is the side view of an old man, apparently carrying the world, carved on the mountain that is located in front of the ruins. The Tunupa is huge and is a wonder to look at. Some people say that the Tunupa is a god. In my opinion, it really looks like an old person. In any case, it is just astonishing! Waking up early was definitely worthwhile.
After a delicious breakfast buffet and a good shower back at the Pakaritampu hotel, I left
for
Cusco City with some stops at Inca ruins along the way. (My driver charged me US$ 40.00 for this journey.)
After one and a half hours of an amazing view of the Urubamba Valley, we arrived at the market of Pisac, where you can find a vast variety of people from different parts of
Cusco selling their handcrafts, native musical instruments, paints, sculptures and other stuff. The art in
Cusco is beautiful and its tradition is well known around the world. The handcraft and paints are just so beautiful and unique that I love walking around and buying something every time I go there. Pisac is located 20.5 miles from
Cusco City.
My next stop was the ruins of Pisac. The ruins are 10 to 15 minutes away from the market and 22 miles from
Cusco . They include a huge portion of terraces that the Incas used to cultivate their goods (most of them still in use), a beautiful temple with an Inca door and an amazing view of the terraces and the Urubamba Valley, as well as some other Inca buildings. From the parking lot to the temple, I walked 20 minutes
at a pretty fast pace. The view was incredible because the temple was located at the top of one of the highest mountains surrounding the valley. After one hour there, I went back to the parking lot to meet my driver.
After twenty minutes we arrived at the ruins of Tambomachay, located about 5 miles from
Cusco City. Tambomachay is well-known as the Temple of the Water and contains some fountains with amazing hydrologic work. Some writers say that Tambomachay was the hunting lodge of Inca Yupanqui (one of the Incas or kings of the Empire). Parking is about a ten to fifteen minute walk to the ruins.
From the entrance of Tambomachay, you can see the ruins of Puka Pukara, about a quarter of a mile away. A portion of the ruin was destroyed by the Spaniards at their arrival, but it was rebuilt some years ago. It is believed that the buildings here served as a hunting lodge or just a stopping point for travelers.
The ruins of Qenqo was my next stop. Located about 4 miles from
Cusco City, it is believed that Oengo was built to honor the Mother Earth (Pachamama).
It included a temple where sacrifices were performed. At the entrance or the temple is a small circular wall and inside of the circle there is a huge stone carved in the shape of a frog. Next to the frog it is possible to see some seats carved from rocks where it is believed that the Inca priests performed their ceremonies before performing sacrifices. Behind these stones is located the entrance to the altar where the sacrifices were offered. The altar is located inside of a small cave and it is carved on the stone; its shape is beautiful.
My last stop was the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, located about a mile and a half from
Cusco . Here it is possible to see hundreds of huge carved rocks perfectly aligned. There are different levels and it is believed that Sacsayhuaman was built to repel enemies. From Sacsayhuaman it is possible to see part of
Cusco . Sacsayhuaman is so awesome and mysterious that I go there as many times as I can when I am in
Cusco . This time I spent only an hour there and it was not enough (I will tell you more about this huge
event in
Cusco later).
Around 3:45 p.m. I was at my hotel, where I left my backpack and a lot of clothes to be washed. I then went to an internet café to leave some pictures to be recorded on CDs and then to eat at Bohemia, a pretty nice restaurant located in the main square. I ordered a traditional Peruvian dish called “Lomo Saltado.” The food was well worth the long wait. I asked the waiter about a stage I had seen in the main square, and he told me that in a few hours some Peruvian singers and a band would be performing there for the celebration of the Inti Raymi.
Next on my agenda was to get information about tours to the Jungle. I collected information on different lodges in Puerto Maldonado, which is a medium-size city located in the middle of the jungle. Its lodges are surrounded by nature in its primitive glory.
After getting this information, I passed through the main square again, where a famous Peruvian singer was performing. Lots of people from all over the world were enjoying the show. I am sure many of them did not even speak
Spanish, but they looked happy talking to one another and drinking Peruvian beer of course.
By the way, in
Cusco you can find a standard tour that includes the Cathedral, Qoricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay. This tour starts about 1:00 p.m. and ends around 5:00 p.m. It costs about US$ 15.00 (It does not include tickets - The ticket for the cathedral costs around US$ 4.00, for Qoricancha around US$ 2.00 and the ticket for Sacsayhuaman and the others costs around US$ 13.00, but if you get a pass ticket including the ruins of Ollantaytambo, Pisac and other places, you pay around US$ 24.00, which is a better deal if you are going to Ollantaytambo.) There is another standard tour that includes the Urubamba Valley, Pisac and Ollantaytambo. It usually starts around 9:00 a.m. and ends around 7:00 p.m. The cost of the tour starts around US$ 20.00 without tickets or lunch.
http://www.latikacuscotravel.com
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