Cusco and the Sacred Valley: Part 2

We've really been enjoying our time in and around Cusco. After our first two days in the area, we spent the third day exploring more of the city, and the fourth day visiting a few sites on the way back to Ollantaytambo. Our first stop was Qorikancha, an impressive temple to the sun god that was the most important site in the Inca empire. It used to be covered with gold, but the Spanish pilfered all of it and built the convent and church of Santo Domingo on top of the site. In its current form, it's an interesting mix of huge Inca stone blocks and Spanish colonial architecture with Moorish influences.

Inca windows at Qorikancha

Church built on top of the ruins of Qorikancha

Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Coffee for Pablo!

Cuy (Guinea Pig) at the last supper - painting in the regional museum

There was a sudden downpour. The rain dropped the temperature by 25F for the rest of the day.

There are still lots of traces of the Inca throughout Cusco

Traditional dancing and music at Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo

Plaza de Armas on a wet night

San Pedro market

Little kid eating breakfast by the market

On our way to Macchu Pichu, we went from Cusco north to the town of Ollantaytambo, stopping at several interesting sites. The scenery was spectacular. This was our first sunny day, and traveling on dirt roads across the rolling plateau above the sacred valley was breathtaking. Parts of it looked like mixes of the American West with Switzerland. We went to Moray, an Inca agricultural site. There are several large circular terraces. There's a big temperature difference between each terrace, which allowed different crops to be built on different levels - it's considered by some modern researchers to be an Inca agricultural research station that contributed to the thousands of different potato varieties in existence today.

Scenery near Moray

One of the smaller circular terraces at Moray

The main terraces of Moray

Floating steps so the Inca could walk between terraces

Crossing the high Plateau.

Our next stop was Salinas, which has been a salt collection site since pre-Inca times. An underground saline stream emerges from the mountain and is channeled into a series of dramatic shallow ponds that cascade down the mountain. When the water evaporates, the salt is collected. We walked around the site for a while, taking in the great views.

Salinas

Walking around Salinas

Salinas

More awesome high-elevation scenery

Watch out for animals in the road!

After descending to the city of Ollantaytambo (which is still at 9,160 feet above sea level), we wandered around town for bit before eating dinner and going to bed. Our hotel, the Tunupa Lodge, had a beautiful location right next to the river, and was easy walking distance to the train station and the town center.

Ollantaytambo main square, with Inca ruins on the mountain behind

Ollantaytambo has the most intact system of Inca streets

The moon and Venus in a long-exposure shot from Tunupa Lodge Hotel

The Sacred Valley is an awesome place - we've loved every minute of our stay here!