A Bunch More Photos, The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu

Just Happy To Be Alive

That's Right, Just Behind My Ear...

Urubamba River Valley

Pisaq Tombs

Pisaq

Pisaq

Pisaq

Pisaq Marie, Julie and her brother Matthew

Hey, look at the old people on the bench!

Pisaq

Pisaq

Pisaq



Pisaq Marie Mongague



Pisaq Terraces, called Andenes

 

Pisaq, Artsy seller



Pisaq, Artsy seller2

 



Ollantaytambo



Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo, the old and the new

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo, The Baths

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Overlooking Chinchero

Chinchero

Chinchero Pooch

Chinchero, woman selling bracelets

Izcuchaca Chapel with the group members, the elders and Matthew's family

Sarah's Birthday at Papacha's, the hamburger joint!

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu - Our Niece Sarah

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

 

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Llarry the Llama At Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Ground Erosion Control Measures at Machu Picchu

 

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu Rich and Matthew on the way to Intipunku, The Sun Gate

The Road  to Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Altar Near The Sun Gate, Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu seen from near the Sun Gate

Machu Picchu



We had a wonderful time exploring the Sacred Valley with Julie’s brother Matthew, his wife Andrea and their daughters Sarah and Marie. Here’s a little history of some of the ruins:

The Písaq ruins lie atop a hill at the entrance to the valley. The ruins are separated along the ridge into four groups: We visited the Temple of the Sun, baths, altars, water fountains, a ceremonial platform, and an intihuatana, a volcanic outcrop carved into a "hitching post for the Sun" (or Inti). The Inca constructed agricultural terraces on the steep hillside, which are still in use today. They created the terraces by hauling rich topsoil by hand from the lower lands. The terraces enabled the production of surplus food, more than would normally be possible at altitudes as high as 11,000 feet. The narrow rows of terraces beneath the citadel are thought to represent the wing of a partridge (pisaca), from which the village and ruins get their name. The birds are also common in the area at dusk.

With military, religious, and agricultural structures, the site served at least a triple purpose. Researchers believe that Písaq defended the southern entrance to the Sacred Valley, while Choquequirao defended the western entrance, and the fortress at Ollantaytambo the northern.  Písaq controlled a route which connected the Inca Empire with the border of the rain forest.

Ollantaytambo is breathtaking and spectacular. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti (Return of the Cosmos) who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance. During the Spanish conquest of Peru, Ollantaytambo served as a temporary capital for Manco Inca, leader of the native resistance against the conquistadores. He fortified the town and its approaches in the direction of the former Inca capital of Cusco, which had fallen to the Spanish. In 1536, on the plain of Mascabamba, near Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca defeated a Spanish expedition blocking their advance from a set of high terraces and flooding the plain.

We have visited Machu Picchu many times and it still is a wonder and a marvel to us. Its origins are pretty hotly debated and while some say it was built around 1450a.d. at the height of the Inca Empire others debate that it was much older. The construction of Machu Picchu appears to date from the period of the two great Incas, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438–71) and Tupaq Inca Yupanqui (1472–93). It was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travelers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. Fortunately the Spanish never found the site so it remained intact and workers are still exposing new areas today. Hyrum Bingham is credited with bringing it to public light in the early 1900s but his “Discovery” of it is debated. We love the Sacred Valley and its history and had a wonderful time.