Our day begins with an hour bus ride plus a 20 minute taxi ride away from Cuzco to a town called Pisac, where the Inca citadel lies high above the village, protecting the Urubamba valley below and also a pass leading into the jungle to the northeast.
Topping the terraces is the site's ceremoial centre with an intihuatana (literally 'hitching post of the sun'; an Inca astronomical tool) as well as working water channels and some pretty amazing stone masonry. This site is huge, we wondered around here for over 3 hours! (I won't bore you with ALL the photos!)
The terraces are amazing! They are currently under restoration. This is where the Inca grew crops to feed their many people. The different levels each have their own microclimate, according to how deep into the bowl it is, which allowed them to grow a great variety of crops.
The terracing is almost entirely unbroken by steps, which require greater maintenance and promote erosion. Instead, the terracing is joined by diagonal flights of stairs made of flagstones set into the terrace walls.
The stone work, WOW, I insist they had magic powers, but Dejan informs me that the rock type is mainly small crystallized white granite which makes it easier to hammer into finely shaped blocks and sharply defined angles. (I bet he got that online!!) It is incredibly how finely these pieces are carved - huge blocks of stone that meet perfectly together, without any gap, and multiple angles to work stones all around. Also, perfectly carved channels for water throughout the structure, providing irrigation, drinking and bath water throughout.
I could go on about Pisac for quite some time, but instead, I'll suggest you come see for yourself! Words can hardly describe!
From there, we hoped a bus bound for Cusco, and got off at the first of 4 sets of ruines. The day went so fast, we only had time to do two more.
Tombomachay, at an altitude of 3765, was ear poppingly high - we've acclimatized well, but it still gives me a bit of a headache on the way up, and Dejan on the way down. In the background you can see some of the native people - they often dress up and sit at tourist spots and accept a few soles ($) to have their photo taken. They also always have llama, super cute and soft!
These ruins lie about 300m from the main road and consist of a ceremonial stone bath channeling spring water through fountains that still function today. It's known as El Bano del Inca - the bath of the Inca, and theories connect the site to an Inca water cult.
And in distance, but just a short walk across the main highway is Pukapukara, which overlooks the Cuzco valley. In certain light, the rock looks pink, and the name literally means 'Red Fort'.
After a long day of trekking, we caught a collectivo back into Cuzco. This was the most hilarious drive -a collectivo is a mini van, but really ruff inside, no interior except for some bench seats, it was empty when it picked us up, and by the time we reached town - they had squished 23 people in - well, we couldn't tell for absolutely certain since we couldn't see very far past the tips of our noses - so lets say 23 give or take 3! Yeah, we got out when they tried to fit another family of 5 in - YIKES! Walking the rest of the way looked pretty good!
Tomorrow, the ruins at Sacsaywaman, then off to Ollantaytambo!
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