Sacred valley of Incas – Ollantaytambo and Pisac

After visiting Machu Picchu, I came to the nice little town of Ollantaytambo to stay for the night. I had a complete day before boarding the overnight bus at Cusco. My plan was to visit the ruins of Ollaytaytambo and Pisac situated in the Sacred Valley of Incas.

What is Sacred Valley of Incas?

The stretch of about 100 kms along Urubamba river between Pisac and Machu Picchu is known as Sacred Valley. The valley being closer to Cusco and at lower elevation was warmer triggerring Incas to build the towns and cultivate agriculture. 

Ruins of Ollaytaytambo

I started my day by visiting the ruins of Ollantaytambo. It was walkable distance from the home stay that I was staying. The Cusco ticket was valid for entering the ruins. The fortress was situated in the top and I had to climb the stairs along the terraces to reach it. I realised the huge size of the terraces as I climbed the steps. While it small from the bottom, each terrace was taller than the average man. It is amazing to see how Incas achieved this kind of structures without the knowledge of wheel or minerals like iron. 

History of Ollantaytambo

During 15th century, the Inca Emperor Pachacuti built the various structures in Sacred Valley and in general Ollaytaytambo. After the fall of Cusco in 1533 to Spanish Invaders, the resistance of Incas moved to Ollaytaytambo. The Inca ruler Manco Inca was able to defeat the Spanish in Ollantaytambo due to their vantage position. But he knew that is victory was short lived and Spanish would come back with bigger numbers. He moved deeper into the forest while the Spanish came back and conquered Ollantaytambo.

Fortress

From the top of fortress, I could get the bird’s eye view of the Sacred valley. I went back in history where Inca soldiers watching the Spanish Invaders. The Temple of Sun is the important place with huge Wall of Six monoliths, each weighing about 50 tons!! But the temple is incomplete and for some unknown reason, the construction was stopped.

Fountains and baths

I descended the fort to enter into ceremonial area at the base. The area was full of baths, fountains and various irrigation systems. 

Travel to Pisac

I had decided to travel using public transport in Sacred Valley. The home stay owner provided very good information about the public transport. I went to Collectivo (shared van) stop at Ollantaytambo and took the van to Urubamba. At Urubamba, I had to hire an auto to reach to the other side of the town to reach the bus stop. Most cities in Peru does not have a single bus stop. It is situated in different places based on the destination and bus company. It makes travelling in public transport challenging for an outsider. I took another Van from Urubamba to Pisac. I was the only foreigner in the entire journey!! The journey gave an opportunity to interact with locals.

At Pisac – Walk or Car?

I was hungry by the time In reached Pisac. It was time for lunch and I headed to a vegan restaurant. I was surprised to see the photo of  “Mata Amritanandamayi” and other Yoga books. I wanted to understand more but the lady at the restaurant did not knew a word of English and my Spanish was not so good to have such conversations!!

 

The question after post lunch was the mode of transport to reach Pisac ruins. The ruins were situated on top of the hill behind Pisac. It would take about 3 hours to walk up. I had no time and energy for such a walk. I made a deal with a taxi guy to take me to the ruins. He also offered to wait at the ruins and bring me back to the town. I was planning to walk down but that offer made me to think again. It was a hot day and it looked inviting. It turned out to be a good decision as the path down to the town was closed due to the risk of rock falling (heavy winds that day).

At ruins

I showed the “Cusco ticket” to enter into the ruins, which was spread across a large area. Most of the tours arrive in Pisac during the first part of the day and hence the place was largely empty when I visited. The wind was very strong that day and some path were closed due to the chances of rock fall.

 

The striking feature of Pisac is the agricultural terraces that cover the entire hill side. It is one of the best places to see the terraces. The ruins contain Temple of the sun, fountains, ceremonial platforms, baths etc. It took me about two hours to see the ruins.

Missing driver

When I came back to the parking lot, I could neither see the driver or the car. I was bit perplexed but not worried as I had not paid him any money. A person came to me and asked what I was looking for. I told him my situation. I had taken a photo of the number plate before going to ruins which I showed him. He said that he knew the person and immediately called him. The driver had found a person who wanted to go down. Instead of waiting for me, he thought that he could drop him and earn some money. Well, nothing wrong in that approach and the driver in fact came after 5 minutes. But this incident also showed the friendliness of ordinary Peru people!!

 

The ride back to Cusco on Collective was uneventful as I dosed off for most part of the journey!!