Travel in Peru - Ollantaytambo, the Sacred Valley
Peru Travel Deals provide info, tips and concepts about travelling in Peru. The following is an account about a trip to Ollantaytambo (at the foot of the Sacred Valley in Peru) and is an adaptation of a chapter from our book Inca Hoots - We are hoping you find it interesting.
From Urubamba we caught acollectivoto Ollantaytambo, 1 or 2 miles up the road. Known for its extensive Inca patios and ruined temple-fortress, Ollantaytambo marks the lowest end of the Sacred Valley. While in use, its function is assumed to have been an administrative centre, but following the Spanish "invasion" it was also used as an Inca fortress after the fall of Cusco in 1536.
The village itself may be referred to as 'quaint'. A large percentage of the buildings are built on huge granite Inca foundations, with the specific, closely-knit, stonework that we became accustomed to seeing. The layout of the town still keeps characteristics inherited from the Incas, including the notion that if you look at it from the air it allegedly resembles a piece of maize. Although Ollantaytambo is reasonably small it is truly geared up for the visitors and is totally full of extortionately priced cafs, bistros and shops. It is the closest town to the start of the Inca trail and it is also a popular place to take the train from to go to Machu Picchu. The quantity of hotels far surpassed those in Urubamba, as did their costs.
Two minutes stroll from the central piazza we were wowed by an amazing set of grand terraces. The tall stone terraces probably acted as defence against possible invasions, but their first function was most likely to have been rural. Like large steps, they led straight to a temple/fortress construction on top. One of the wonderful things about these ruins were the enormous red granite megaliths that were located way up the hillside, about 80 metres from the level of the village. It looked like the Incas had grand concepts for Ollantaytambo and were in the midst of building a church before the Spanish scuppered their plans. The smoothly cut stone faces imply that the church would've had a serious religious status "the rule being, the better the stonework, the more important the building was. The huge slabs, weighing at least 100 tonnes each, originated from a quarry about 3 miles from the hamlet. It might have taken some manpower to move them, but the Incans were not dumb and supposedly diverted the stream to aid them in getting the slabs across the valley. How they got them up the hillside to the top of the site was possibly not so easy.
On reaching the top of the patios we sat and enjoyed amazing views of the whole hamlet and up the Sacred Valley. It was easy to distinguish the smaller patios along the valley and hillsides, lots of which are in very good condition and still in use. We did not get a chance to visit the salt terraces, which are still used today, or the nearby experimental rural patios that form an amphitheatre, but the patios were sufficient to show us that this valley was important agriculturally. The Incans developed complicated irrigation schemes, setting up drainage systems and canals to help expand their crop resources. The highland areas today produce little more than potatoes, wheat and maize, but the Incans added to this list tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and coca among the numerous crops they grew.
Perched high on the hillside opposite the stronghold are even more ruins. Keeping in mind that prisons in the Incan rule were of little use because their punishment often consisted mainly of death, the idea that they were used as granaries instead of prisons is more possible. In fact the Incas had an extremely violent punishment system. If somebody robbed, murdered, or had sex with a Sapa (high priest) wife or a Sun Virgin, they were either thrown off a cliff, hands cut off, eyes cut out, or hung up to starve to death. "Ama Sua, Ama Quella, Ama Lulla", "Don't lie, don't filch, don't be lazy" was the philosophy of the Inca Empire, where indolence was a capital offence punishable by death. Strangely enough, this excluded monks and royalty. This philosophy is still clear and in spite of being terribly poor, begging on the streets was not a common a sight as we had predicted. It seemed to be restricted to extraordinarily old, groaning women, all of whom were totally ungrateful of any gifts of food or money.
Unemployment was non-existent during the Inca rule, everybody taking part in building roads, fortresses, temples, drainage and agricultural systems. Rather than paying taxes, each Inca voter was required to spend 7 weeks in the service of their Lord.
We mounted up the mountainside to try to reach. The other ruins, but the primary route was often impassable as almost all of it had slumped down the hillside many years ago.
Massive amounts of grain would've been picked up from the along the valley and stored in these buildings. Kept well away from the brook would prevent it from getting wet and being so far up the mountainside meant there was no risk of it being thieved either. From this point we could see back across the hamlet and to the ruins, which looked rather more imposing. Our manual recommended that the terracing formed the picture of a mother llama, with one of its young. If we squinted hard enough we could make out some rural terraces with a stronghold/temple on the top and came to the opinion that the writer may have been under the influence at the time. This idea was more than possible and our reasoning wasn't unfounded.
Whilst walking amongst the ruins we spotted a grouping of westerners sitting on a ledge. With them was a 'god like figure, wearing white robes, with a big white beard. They were sitting silently, puffing away on a pipe that was being passed around.
Later that day we met a woman who was on, what we called, a 'Magical, Poser Tour'. She was with an organized trip, spending 3 weeks in Peru visiting shamans and getting in touch with nature and the Incan ideology. The Inca had many shamans who believed in animal spirits living on earth, where a condor pictured heaven, the underworld by an anaconda, and the brother who resided on earth was the puma. An American spouse of a University Professor she seemed content with visiting the ruins, enjoying the hamlets and views, but was not really into the shamanism, especially the drug taking that was all just a part of the experience. Her man went off with the group and their guide and took huge amounts of hallucinogenic drugs. They were also mixing different drugs everyday without giving themselves time to recover from their last shamanic experience. Of course, after about a week they were all completely f****d up and could not stop tripping.
The high point of any shamanic visit in South America is taking the ayahuasca. The shaman produces this from a cactus, found across the Andes, and when taken the effects can be particularly worrying. The shaman should stay in full control and can snap his subject out when they're ready to leave the trip. The issue crops up when the drug is taken without the steering of a correct qualified shaman, and people can carry on tripping for several days.
From Urubamba we caught acollectivoto Ollantaytambo, 1 or 2 miles up the road. Known for its extensive Inca patios and ruined temple-fortress, Ollantaytambo marks the lowest end of the Sacred Valley. While in use, its function is assumed to have been an administrative centre, but following the Spanish "invasion" it was also used as an Inca fortress after the fall of Cusco in 1536.
The village itself may be referred to as 'quaint'. A large percentage of the buildings are built on huge granite Inca foundations, with the specific, closely-knit, stonework that we became accustomed to seeing. The layout of the town still keeps characteristics inherited from the Incas, including the notion that if you look at it from the air it allegedly resembles a piece of maize. Although Ollantaytambo is reasonably small it is truly geared up for the visitors and is totally full of extortionately priced cafs, bistros and shops. It is the closest town to the start of the Inca trail and it is also a popular place to take the train from to go to Machu Picchu. The quantity of hotels far surpassed those in Urubamba, as did their costs.
Two minutes stroll from the central piazza we were wowed by an amazing set of grand terraces. The tall stone terraces probably acted as defence against possible invasions, but their first function was most likely to have been rural. Like large steps, they led straight to a temple/fortress construction on top. One of the wonderful things about these ruins were the enormous red granite megaliths that were located way up the hillside, about 80 metres from the level of the village. It looked like the Incas had grand concepts for Ollantaytambo and were in the midst of building a church before the Spanish scuppered their plans. The smoothly cut stone faces imply that the church would've had a serious religious status "the rule being, the better the stonework, the more important the building was. The huge slabs, weighing at least 100 tonnes each, originated from a quarry about 3 miles from the hamlet. It might have taken some manpower to move them, but the Incans were not dumb and supposedly diverted the stream to aid them in getting the slabs across the valley. How they got them up the hillside to the top of the site was possibly not so easy.
On reaching the top of the patios we sat and enjoyed amazing views of the whole hamlet and up the Sacred Valley. It was easy to distinguish the smaller patios along the valley and hillsides, lots of which are in very good condition and still in use. We did not get a chance to visit the salt terraces, which are still used today, or the nearby experimental rural patios that form an amphitheatre, but the patios were sufficient to show us that this valley was important agriculturally. The Incans developed complicated irrigation schemes, setting up drainage systems and canals to help expand their crop resources. The highland areas today produce little more than potatoes, wheat and maize, but the Incans added to this list tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and coca among the numerous crops they grew.
Perched high on the hillside opposite the stronghold are even more ruins. Keeping in mind that prisons in the Incan rule were of little use because their punishment often consisted mainly of death, the idea that they were used as granaries instead of prisons is more possible. In fact the Incas had an extremely violent punishment system. If somebody robbed, murdered, or had sex with a Sapa (high priest) wife or a Sun Virgin, they were either thrown off a cliff, hands cut off, eyes cut out, or hung up to starve to death. "Ama Sua, Ama Quella, Ama Lulla", "Don't lie, don't filch, don't be lazy" was the philosophy of the Inca Empire, where indolence was a capital offence punishable by death. Strangely enough, this excluded monks and royalty. This philosophy is still clear and in spite of being terribly poor, begging on the streets was not a common a sight as we had predicted. It seemed to be restricted to extraordinarily old, groaning women, all of whom were totally ungrateful of any gifts of food or money.
Unemployment was non-existent during the Inca rule, everybody taking part in building roads, fortresses, temples, drainage and agricultural systems. Rather than paying taxes, each Inca voter was required to spend 7 weeks in the service of their Lord.
We mounted up the mountainside to try to reach. The other ruins, but the primary route was often impassable as almost all of it had slumped down the hillside many years ago.
Massive amounts of grain would've been picked up from the along the valley and stored in these buildings. Kept well away from the brook would prevent it from getting wet and being so far up the mountainside meant there was no risk of it being thieved either. From this point we could see back across the hamlet and to the ruins, which looked rather more imposing. Our manual recommended that the terracing formed the picture of a mother llama, with one of its young. If we squinted hard enough we could make out some rural terraces with a stronghold/temple on the top and came to the opinion that the writer may have been under the influence at the time. This idea was more than possible and our reasoning wasn't unfounded.
Whilst walking amongst the ruins we spotted a grouping of westerners sitting on a ledge. With them was a 'god like figure, wearing white robes, with a big white beard. They were sitting silently, puffing away on a pipe that was being passed around.
Later that day we met a woman who was on, what we called, a 'Magical, Poser Tour'. She was with an organized trip, spending 3 weeks in Peru visiting shamans and getting in touch with nature and the Incan ideology. The Inca had many shamans who believed in animal spirits living on earth, where a condor pictured heaven, the underworld by an anaconda, and the brother who resided on earth was the puma. An American spouse of a University Professor she seemed content with visiting the ruins, enjoying the hamlets and views, but was not really into the shamanism, especially the drug taking that was all just a part of the experience. Her man went off with the group and their guide and took huge amounts of hallucinogenic drugs. They were also mixing different drugs everyday without giving themselves time to recover from their last shamanic experience. Of course, after about a week they were all completely f****d up and could not stop tripping.
The high point of any shamanic visit in South America is taking the ayahuasca. The shaman produces this from a cactus, found across the Andes, and when taken the effects can be particularly worrying. The shaman should stay in full control and can snap his subject out when they're ready to leave the trip. The issue crops up when the drug is taken without the steering of a correct qualified shaman, and people can carry on tripping for several days.
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