Today (Tuesday) we did an eight hour bus tour of the Sacred Valley, surrounding Cusco. Here are some photos of the sights we saw with details on where we were!
Our first stop was a scenic overlook down a small part of this huge valley to see the scale and the lay of the land.
Sarah and me, taking in the view!
Our next stop was the Incan ruins above Pisac, which was mostly an agricultural area. The Incans built leveled steps into the sides of the mountains to grow crops- and had complex irrigation systems running through them.
Exploring the Pisac ruins
Buildings in which they stored the crops grown in Pisac.
We then went into the town of Pisac, below the ruins, to explore the market. I didn’t buy anything but Sarah got a beautiful watercolor painting of Machu Pichu from a local artist.
We stopped at a Hacienda turned Hotel for lunch. The Haciendas were once occupied by wealthy Peruvians who owned huge amounts of land and slaves to farm that land. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that the slaves began to fight for their freedom from the owners.
The next stop was Ollantaytambo, which was half religious and half secular. The steps and buildings at the top were part of the religious section. The secular area is still lived in today, though it has been developed a bit since Incan times.
Some friendly locals in Ollantaytambo
the view from about 2/3rds of the way up to the top of Ollantaytambo.
a closer look at the agricultural steps at Ollantaytambo.
we started our drive back towards Cusco. Even the scenery along the road was impressive!
our next and final stop was Cachimayo, where we saw a demonstration on spinning and dying wool using traditional methods and dyes. They wash the wool with a shredded root that makes a sudsy soap and dye it with pigment from bark, leaves, and even cacti.
more of the wool demonstration
the church in Cachimayo- I got yelled at for taking this :(
After Cachimayo we headed back to Cusco for dinner and packing. Tomorrow, we start our hike and will end up in Machu Pichu on Saturday morning! :)
