More hiking in the Sacred Valley

The rest of my days in the Sacred Valley were also filled with wonderful hikes, nearly all of them completely free of tourists (which I definitely had not been expecting in the infamously touristy Cusco area!). One morning I hiked from the small, dusty town of Maras to Moray, which is famous for its four circular experimental agricultural terraces. Along the way, I met this campesino named Vidal. He was headed the same way, so we walked together, chatting in Spanish and munching on some fresh bread I had bought that morning. We talked about his family, the countryside, and the difficulty of being a farmer in Peru. He was quite curious about me too, and asked me a lot of questions about where I’m from. He had a really chill, laid-back style, ending almost every sentence with “no mas” (no more): “Yo cultivo maiz, no mas” (I grow corn, no more) or “Tengo dos hijos, no mas” (I have two sons, no more). It was really nice talking with Vidal, and the walk itself was also incredible. I couldn’t believe the bold colors of the countryside: the Andean plains were filled with reds, oranges, and brown, and dotted with giant turquoise agave plants and tall, silver-leafed eucalyptus trees. The agricultural terraces at Moray were quite impressive, though the site was annoyingly filled with tour groups who had taken the bus and paved road there. It made me really glad that I hadn’t booked any of these tours, as I always found the hikes to these Inca sites at least as enjoyable as the actual site!

Some of the Inca sites were so impressive though that I almost didn’t mind the number of tourists there. One of those sites was Ollantaytambo, an Inca temple that was converted into a fort by Manco Inca and the site of one of their only triumphant stands against the Spanish. The stonework at Ollantaytambo is really really impressive. The Incas are famous for their stonework, especially for their polygonal masonry, which involved fitting massive, irregularly shaped stones together and carving them so that they fit tightly and perfectly together without mortar. I was impressed by the workmanship at all of these sites, but especially so at Ollantaytambo. I spent a long time there, just staring at the walls and wondering how in the world they had managed to carve all those enormous rocks to fit so perfectly together. Even lifting one of those rocks an inch off the ground probably would have taken about 30 men! The walls and unfinished temple at Ollantaytambo were constructed with particularly large rocks and tight junctures. The temple is perched high on the side of a cliff on one side and above steep terraces on the other. From the top, you can see the stone quarries across the river and up on the mountains on the opposite side. After visiting the fort, I crossed the river and hiked up the quarries on an old Inca road. Hiking up those steep mountain trails already left me quite breathless, and I was only carrying my water bottle. I couldn’t fathom what it must have been like for the workers, who had to cart those massive rocks down the mountain, across the river, and up the side of the other mountain to the temple.

Some people may ask (and rightly so), “Why all the hoo-ha over the Incas?” While I don’t think the Incas are necessarily more interesting than other ancient civilizations in Peru, I definitely think the Incas are interesting enough in their own right. Their incredible feats of workmanship are astounding; archeologists today still have not been able to figure out exactly how they were able to fit all those massive stones so perfectly together. Another thing I find so impressive about the Incas is how quickly they rose to power. In just one generation, they rose from being just another small, insignificant mountain tribe to conquering lands all the way up to Colombia and down to Chile. They amassed such impressive wealth, built extensive roads and infrastructure, and commanded powerful armies. While they don’t seem to really be known for their artistry, they were amazing builders and conquerors. It boggles me to think of how quickly they rose to power... and then how quickly they fell to civil war and internal backstabbing. And finally they went from being mighty conquerors to being the conquered when the Spanish arrived. The Spanish themselves were completely awed by the incredible organization and wealth of the empire. Somehow though, in spite of terrible odds, the Spanish managed to completely knock the Incas on their backs with nothing more than a tiny band of conquistadores. Seeing sites like Ollanta made me very impressed by the architectural accomplishments on the Incas, and then walking to the quarries made me even more awed by their ability to mobilize and organize workers to construct amazing structures.

The town itself of Ollantaytambo is really interesting, as it is the best preserved Inca village in Peru. It is surrounded by terraces and mountains, and filled with narrow alleys. The foundation for many of the homes and walls along the streets are the original Inca stonework. Even the Inca water canals running down the sides of streets and trapezoidal doorways are still in use. There are also tons of really great hikes and interesting Inca ruins around Ollanta, including the site of Pumamarca, a military base that is situated at the juncture of two rivers and that overlooks the entire surrounding valley. There is only a sentence about this site in my guidebook, but it also turned out to be one of the best things I’ve done on my whole trip. Again, the hike there was absolutely beautiful. When I arrived at the site, I walked around on my own for a while, thinking I was alone at a deserted site, before realizing an hour later that the caretaker of the site was also there!

The caretaker, Emilio, was so cool he totally could have been Jorge’s brother. Like Jorge, he took me on a really great tour of the site, pointing out all the stones that were in the shape of puma, condors, and snakes (though you have to use your imagination a bit) and all the windows that were strategically positioned by the sun-worshipping Incas to capture the sun at certain times. He was so friendly and seemed impressed when I excitedly pointed out the “doble esquinas” on one building. Emilio also peppered his tour with really cool, tiny details (e.g. the walls of some of the structures were smeared with llama grease (oil) to protect the wall from the elements). As a military base, the site was also very different from other sites like Pisac, Huchuy Cusco, or Ollantaytambo. Almost all the structures were 2 or 3 stories high, and there were many more niches in the walls of houses (perhaps for storing weapons and such?). This site was also completely free! I have no idea why it’s not listed in the guidebooks.

I also spent a few days in the Sacred Valley just enjoying the towns. While I was in Urubamba, they celebrated the town’s anniversary with 2 full days of marching in parades, downing giant cups of chicha and beer, sitting out in the plaza, and dancing to live bands. I met some foreign volunteers and a local guy and ended up dancing in a club until 4am. For me though, the coolest part of Urubamba day was just sitting out in the plaza and watching all the activity around me. The indigenous culture is very strong in these areas, and it was really nice just watching everyone dressed in bright, traditional clothing, relaxing together on the grass. It seems like people here are always ready for a party. My last day in Ollanta, someone running for office was campaigning. Campaigning seems very different here than back home. There were the requisite, arm-pumping speeches, but also guys riding around on horseback and saluting the candidate, dancers doing traditional dances, and then a roaring party in the plaza that lasted well into the night, with beer for everyone! Maybe more people in the U.S. would vote if it were this much fun! I left on the bus to Santa Maria while the party was still blaring... and when I returned 3 days later there was another big campaign party in the plaza! (Or maybe the same one was still going!)