Day excursion to Pisaq and Ollantaytambo from Cusco, Peru

08.25.2003 Pisaq and Ollantaytambo
The Sacred Valley of Inca, "new" and "old" Pisaq, Ollantaytambo

The today excursion leaves from Cusco and, crossing the Sacred Valley to Pisaq, ends in Ollantaytambo. Less than one hour after Cusco, we arrive in the Sacred Valley, so called by the Inca because of the fertile soil, and crossed by the Urubamba river.


	Pisaq ruins are located on the top of a moun-tain, having its sides terraced by the Incas for agricolture purposes. Because its extension, it is belived that Pisaq was an important center.

Terraces was built mainly for agricolture needs, anyway, in several cases, they was used also for gardens, for decorations, or to consolidate the mountain's sides. In the picture, stones are used to create a ladder.


	The city is divided into suburbs, each of them with a precise function, connected by trails. Some hour is needed to walk from the upper part of the city, to the lower, with some elevation difference to be covered. In the pictures, the upper suburb, close to the entrance.

This site is not only beautiful for its ruins, but also for the majestic scenery all around. This is a WidevieW od about 200 degrees to the nearby mountains and valleys.


A door on the trail. On the right: a stone is worked to support the ropes used to open and to close the door.


	Terraces are many and are often located on very steep sides. They was usually built creating the wall first, and then filling the terrace with fertile soil taken from the valley.


	On the left: a view of the valley, on the top: walls are sometime used to consolidate the mountain's sides.

The Intiwatana is the suburb where the Temple of the Sun is located, and it was also used for astronomic observations, as well as for religious puropses.


	The temple is built with traditional Inca's style, as already discussed in the Cusco's page.


	So, inclinated walls, trapeziodal doors and windows, perfectly cut stones.


	Inca's aqueducts still work and carry water without any maintenance. Nodoby know from where the water comes, but there is a theory saying that it arrives from a nearby mountain.


	The modern Pisaq, has a coloruf central square and picturesque narrow streets.


	In the central square there is also a nice market where locals sell products of different kinds, mainly handycrafts, musical instruments and alpaca-wool clothes. Everything is very inviting, but be sure to bargain before paying, as the final price can be an half of the original !


	The day continues with a visit to Ollantaytambo ruins, in the past an important center with administrative, productive, economical and religious functions.

The modern Ollantaytambo as seen from the top of the hill where the ruins are located. The sun is about to set and the tall mountains all around create long shadows.


From the ruins, looking to the moutain in the front, two interesting shapes can be distinguished. On the left picture, a woman's face profile can be seen, while, on the right picture, a shape of a king with a crown on the head is clearly visibile in the center, between the two home complexes. These shapes are natural and it is belived that they had a mean for the local population.


	The terraces seen from the top. It is still uncertain if their purpose was just for decoration or for agricolture.

Top left picture: the traditional Inca wall, as seen a lot of times. Top right picture: a huge stone. We still don't know its function, as well as the meaning of the pattern on the surface. Uncertain is also its origin, although a stone quarry was found on the top of the mountain on the left picture


	The day ends with a visit to the bath area where the water still runs in the original Inca's aqueducts and nice fountains.

*PICTURES OF PERU - BOLIVIA - CILE: IMAGES FROM THE TRIP DAY BY DAY*
	09.08.2003 - Santiago day tour Guided day tour of Santiago, visiting Plaza de Armas, the downtown with its tall skyscrapers, and the outskirts.
	10.08.2003 - Winery tour from Santiago Chile is getting every year more competitive in the wine market, thanks to the quality and to the increasing quantity. A winery tour in a farm near Santiago lets to discover the wine production process and to taste excellent wines.
	11.08.2003 - San Pedro De Atacama The Atacama desert in Chile is considered one of the world's driest place where, in several areas, there are no registered rainfalls for many consecutive years. But this doesn't mean that there is no life or nothing to see...
	12.08.2003 - San Pedro de Atacama and Salar De Atacama Day tour from San Pedro de Atacama to Salar de Atacama, a huge salt flat surrounded by majestic volcanoes, where flamingoes have made their home.
	13.08.2003 - from Laguna Verde to Laguna Colorada Today the groups gets into Bolivia where an adventure by 4x4 begins. The today itinerary goes from Laguna Verde (green lake) to Laguna Colorada (red lake) driving off road or onto dirty roads, between spectacular lunar landscape of extreme high mountain.
	14.08.2003 - Crossing Bolivian plateau by 4x4 The Bolivian desert expedition by 4x4 continues at altitudes between 3.500 and 5000 meters above sea level, in an incredible landscape of rocks sculptured by winds and other extreme elements.
	15.08.2003 - Salar De Uyuni tour With an average altitude higher than 4000 meters, the Bolivian plateau offers spectacular scenery, like the immense Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat. We make a stop at Isla Pescado (fish island) a small hill in the middle of the salt, where there are giant cactus.
	16.08.2003 - Travel from Uyuni to Potosi Travel by public bus service from Uyuni to Potosi, over partly paved roads at extreme altitudes, in the middle of the Andes.
	17.08.2003 - Potosi city tour and silver miner excursion Excursion to the interesting "museum of the coins" in Potosi, then tour into a silver miner where people work in terrible conditions, inside a mountain above 4.000 meters of altitude.
	18.08.2003 - Sucre city tour Travel by public bus service from Potosi to Uyuni, Bolivia, then short Sucre city tour and excursion to the "dinosaurs footprints" park, a vertical wall of rock where dinosaurs tracks were left impressed after a sudden catastrophic event.
	19.08.2003 - La Paz city tour Flight from Sucre to El Alto, one of the world's most elevated airports, near the city of La Paz, Bolivia. A short city tour of La Paz follows.
	20.08.2003 - Tiahuanaco tour Excursion to Tiahuanaco ruins by bus, departing from La Paz. This archeological site is very interesting and belongs to pre-Inca time.
	21.08.2003 - Travel La Paz - Puno via Copacabana Travel by public bus from La Paz to Puno (Peru) via Copacabana. Today, we cross the border line between Bolivia and Peru, traveling along the Titicaca lake shores.
	22.08.2003 - Titicaca lake cruise Like the ancient Uros people, about 2000 Peruvians still populate the floating islands built of Totora reeds, over lake Titicaca in Peru. Everything, from homes to the floating islands itself, is built using Totora reeds, a plant growing along the shores of lake Titicaca.
	23.08.2003 - Travel Puno - Cusco by train Travel from Puno to Cusco by train, over one of the world highest railway. The entire journey takes almost 12 hours, but worth because of the beautiful scenery.
	24.08.2003 - Excursions from Cusco Cusco, in the middle of the Andes in Peru, is a city full of history and fascinating museum. The first day spent in Cusco is dedicated to an excursion to Sacsayhuaman fortress and to the temple of the sun.
	25.08.2003 - Pisaq and Ollantaytambo tour <YOU ARE HERE> Drive from Cusco thru the Sacred Valley to Pisaq with its ancient ruins and the local handicraft market. Continue to Ollantaytambo where we spend the night.
	26.08.2003 - Travel to Machu Picchu by train Travel to Machu Picchu by train from Ollantaytambo. The narrow gauge railway finishes in Aguas Calientes where we have some rest and overnight.
	27.08.2003 - Machu Picchu tour Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca town, has been discovered only in 1911, although was always known by several local farmers. A tour of Machu Picchu gives the possibility to better understand the everyday life of who has lived here.
	28.08.2003 - Cusco city tour and museums Only one day in Cusco is never enough, so, in this second day, I visit several interesting museums and do more hikes in the city, where many modern buildings are built over ancient Inca walls.
	29.08.2003 - Flight Cusco - Lima Short flight from Cusco to Lima by a Lan Peru Airbus A320. This journey thru the Andes of South America is now about to finish.
	30.08.2003 - Lima day tour Excursion to a pre-Inca cemetery, before visiting Plaza de Armas and the interesting San Francisco monastery.
	Collection of the best pictures The most beautiful pictures from Peru, Bolivia and Chile are collected in this page. Click the highlighted links for additional travel information, for useful links and for a description of the photography equipment.

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