The Sacred Valley of the Incas, or Urubamba Valley, is a culturally and historically significant area that lies in the midst of the Peruvian Andes, around 15 to 20 kilometers from Cusco. Our tour here included two key stops: Chinchero and Ollantaytambo. It was also the first full-day tour of our South America trip.
Chinchero is a picturesque Andean village that is famous for Peruvian weaving. When we got here, we first went into Centro Cultural Parwa where we learned a bit about textile-making from local artisans.
We then walked across the street to see and feed some alpacas, llamas, and vicunas.
We were also given a brief talk about local produce by our tour guide. I didn't realize that there are thousands of different potato varieties!
We then walked towards Plaza de Chinchero, which is their main square. You need a ticket to visit this area (it was included in our tour, of course). My research indicates that you can get in with the Cusco Tourist Ticket which costs 130 Peruvian Soles and is valid for 10 days or you can get a partial ticket at 70 Peruvian Soles which is valid for 2 days and will allow you to visit Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, and Moray, all of which are in the Sacred Valley.
Chinchero has an altitude of 3800 meters, making it the highest place we visited during our trip. Our tour guide told us that to get to the main square, we had to walk up some steps and it may be challenging because of the altitude (it was). Once we walked through the archway that leads to the main square, the view that greeted us was pretty awesome. The main square is where you can find the Chinchero Market or the Mercado de Artesanias.
On one side of the plaza stands the Chinchero Colonial Church, which was built by the Spanish around 1607 on top of the remains of an Incan Palace. Our guide told us that the paintings on the ceiling of this church haven't been retouched since they were painted centuries ago. Visitors are allowed to go inside the church but are not allowed to take photos.
I really loved this place, not only because of the market, the church, and the ruins, but also because it was so expansive. It helped that the skies were clear and the weather was great while we were there.
Once our guided tour of the main square was done, we were given about 15 minutes to go around and take pictures. While I maximized that time, I could easily have spent many more hours here walking around and appreciating (and taking photos of) the panoramic views and the Incan ruins.
We then left Chinchero and made our way to our lunch stop. Along the road, we stopped briefly at a viewing point of the Peruvian Andes.
We also saw some women in traditional attire with some ornately dressed llamas. We just had to have photos taken with them too. :) Peruvian people often agree to have their photos taken with you but you do need to tip them for it.
After a satisfying buffet lunch, we then headed to our final stop that day: Ollantaytambo. Once again, tourists need a Cusco Tourist Ticket to visit this place. Ollantaytambo is known for being the starting point of the famous Inca Trail, which is the four-day hike to Machu Picchu. We weren't here for that though; instead, we were here to visit Temple Hill.
Apparently, there are more than 300 mostly uneven steps that lead to the top of Temple Hill, which is where you will find the Temple of the Sun. Our tour guide asked us if we felt up to the challenge of going up. 300+ steps is normally not that difficult, but Ollantaytambo has an elevation of almost 2,800 meters so even minor physical activity would be difficult because of the thinner air. Still, everyone in our tour group was up for the challenge. Cool!
Of course, with everyone filled with so much energy and excitement, we all made it to the top. There were some really great views of the town from the Temple of the Sun.
This is also where you will find the Wall of the Six Monoliths. Apparently, each of these stones weighs at least 50 tons! I can't even imagine the effort required to bring them all the way up here from a nearby quarry.
Our tour of Sacred Valley was now complete and we headed to the train station in Ollantaytambo to catch the 4:36 PM train to Machu Picchu.
Next: Machu Picchu
View of the Sacred Valley from Taray lookout point
Chinchero is a picturesque Andean village that is famous for Peruvian weaving. When we got here, we first went into Centro Cultural Parwa where we learned a bit about textile-making from local artisans.
Centro Cultural Parwa
We then walked across the street to see and feed some alpacas, llamas, and vicunas.
Feeding some alpacas
We were also given a brief talk about local produce by our tour guide. I didn't realize that there are thousands of different potato varieties!
We then walked towards Plaza de Chinchero, which is their main square. You need a ticket to visit this area (it was included in our tour, of course). My research indicates that you can get in with the Cusco Tourist Ticket which costs 130 Peruvian Soles and is valid for 10 days or you can get a partial ticket at 70 Peruvian Soles which is valid for 2 days and will allow you to visit Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, and Moray, all of which are in the Sacred Valley.
View of the Sacred Valley from Chinchero
Chinchero has an altitude of 3800 meters, making it the highest place we visited during our trip. Our tour guide told us that to get to the main square, we had to walk up some steps and it may be challenging because of the altitude (it was). Once we walked through the archway that leads to the main square, the view that greeted us was pretty awesome. The main square is where you can find the Chinchero Market or the Mercado de Artesanias.
Mercado de Artesanias (Chinchero Market)
On one side of the plaza stands the Chinchero Colonial Church, which was built by the Spanish around 1607 on top of the remains of an Incan Palace. Our guide told us that the paintings on the ceiling of this church haven't been retouched since they were painted centuries ago. Visitors are allowed to go inside the church but are not allowed to take photos.
I really loved this place, not only because of the market, the church, and the ruins, but also because it was so expansive. It helped that the skies were clear and the weather was great while we were there.
Once our guided tour of the main square was done, we were given about 15 minutes to go around and take pictures. While I maximized that time, I could easily have spent many more hours here walking around and appreciating (and taking photos of) the panoramic views and the Incan ruins.
We then left Chinchero and made our way to our lunch stop. Along the road, we stopped briefly at a viewing point of the Peruvian Andes.
Peruvian Andes
We also saw some women in traditional attire with some ornately dressed llamas. We just had to have photos taken with them too. :) Peruvian people often agree to have their photos taken with you but you do need to tip them for it.
After a satisfying buffet lunch, we then headed to our final stop that day: Ollantaytambo. Once again, tourists need a Cusco Tourist Ticket to visit this place. Ollantaytambo is known for being the starting point of the famous Inca Trail, which is the four-day hike to Machu Picchu. We weren't here for that though; instead, we were here to visit Temple Hill.
Temple Hill in Ollantaytambo
Apparently, there are more than 300 mostly uneven steps that lead to the top of Temple Hill, which is where you will find the Temple of the Sun. Our tour guide asked us if we felt up to the challenge of going up. 300+ steps is normally not that difficult, but Ollantaytambo has an elevation of almost 2,800 meters so even minor physical activity would be difficult because of the thinner air. Still, everyone in our tour group was up for the challenge. Cool!
Of course, with everyone filled with so much energy and excitement, we all made it to the top. There were some really great views of the town from the Temple of the Sun.
This is also where you will find the Wall of the Six Monoliths. Apparently, each of these stones weighs at least 50 tons! I can't even imagine the effort required to bring them all the way up here from a nearby quarry.
Our tour of Sacred Valley was now complete and we headed to the train station in Ollantaytambo to catch the 4:36 PM train to Machu Picchu.
Next: Machu Picchu
No comments:
Post a Comment