Jim & Barbara Burton Travel: The Sacred Valley, Peru

The Sacred Valley, Peru

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is an area between Cusco and Machu Picchu, Peru in the Urumbamba River Valley.

Our morning did not start too well as the English speaking guide we had booked was sick, so another arrived who did not speak a word of English. We travelled to the National Park entrance at which point we realised that this was not going to work, so we made him take us back to the hotel.

After leaving him at the hotel we walked into Cusco to try and arrange another tour. Unfortunately, by the time we got there we had missed all of the organised tours. Luckily after walking through the streets we found a travel agency and Nancy, who spoke perfect English, found us a very experienced English speaking guide. Within half an hour we were on our way.

We left Cusco climbing high above the valley and the Urumbamba river, where the views were amazing. We stopped to visit Inca Ruins on the way to Pisac. The sights and the sites were incredible. The walls, structures, terraces and houses. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the construction of all the walls and other buildings at Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay and Puka Pukara often called The Red Fort.

After driving through all of this magnificent scenery we stopped at the terraces and ruins of Pisac. These ruins are very high with narrow trails where one side is a sheer cliff-face drop. "Don't stumble."

After making it back safely to the car we drove to the village of Pisac, population around 10,000 people, mostly indigenous who speak the ancient Quechua language. Pisac is famous for its market place which is situated around the main square. The main square is not like the one in Cusco but a small meeting place. The market was fairly quiet as there were no tours at the time we were there. It was also a little different from other markets we have been to. Check out the shoes and the dolls. Also in the middle was a "Cuy" restaurant where you can pick your own guinea pig. They also cook guinea pigs on brasseries on the side of the road around here. It is a very popular dish.

After leaving Pisac and en-route to the restaurant for lunch we stopped by Inkariy which is currently still being constructed. It is due to open soon and will be a museum and cultural centre. This will be a great addition for education of the Sacred Valley.

Back on our way again, with stomachs rumbling we stopped at a local restaurant in a small town between Pisac and Ollantaytambo. It was full of local people and we noted that the portions were huge. Even as hungry as we were Jim and I shared a meal of pork, potatoes, corn, rice, vegetables and we still could not eat it all. Our guide had a whole meal but couldn't eat his corn, but that was all he left. We found throughout these parts of South America that all meals are served with both rice and potatoes together not common in North America. They also have many varieties of potatoes with different uses. Some are dry, some for soups etc.

Next we headed to Ollantaytambo and the site of probably the most famous ruins in the Sacred Valley. When we arrived there was a local festival in full swing. The people were all singing, drinking and dancing around the tree in the middle of the square. This was the "Felling of the Tree" celebration. They actually were not cutting down the only tree in the square, as it had been cut somewhere else and re-erected in the square for the celebration. The whole tree was adorned with presents, many of which were household items. They dance around the tree, seemingly for hours and then axe the tree down. Once down, it was a stampede to get a present. They all looked pretty pooped at the end of it, but they had lots of fun.

Whilst the celebrations continued we explored the ruins. We climbed to the top of the terraces, which was no mean feat, but we were rewarded by the magnificent views down the valley.

When we left Ollantaytambo it was getting quite late in the day, due to our delayed start and our next stop was to be Chinchero. Chinchero is small village in the Andes, inhabited by the Quechua and famous for its weaving. Chinchero has become a weaving co-operative where the older women teach the younger ones the traditional weaving skills and now the village is becoming self sufficient. Unfortunately due to time constraints, tiredness and an early start for Aguas Caliente the next day we had to forgo our visit to this important centre.

We headed back to Cusco bidding farewell to the magical Sacred Valley and watched the glaciers of the Andes getting ready for bed........................................