Sacred Valley
Informacion General
In the Sacred Valley of the Incas spread beautiful colonial towns that were created, and now show their mixing in architecture, art and culture alive. There are the villages of Chinchero and weavers, and craft fair Pisac, Urubamba and cosmopolitanism, Ollantaytambo, with its strength and Inca people alive. And Moray with its dazzling salt pans in these areas, the Sacred Valley, several communities have created products of rural tourism and experiential tourism that amaze both friends and strangers. Each is a world unto itself, and together make up a new way of exploring the region's most traditional South American Andes
Location
Architectural remains in the Sacred Valley.
The Sacred Valley is between the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo, parallel to the river Vilcanota. You can access it from the city of Cuzco.
It is advisable to visit the following sites:
Sacsayhuaman
Main article: Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman or Saqsahuma encuantra to 3490 m. and is a very important archeological center consist of many buildings in limestone which is one of the hardest rocks according to the MOHS scale.
Quenko
The maze of channels Quenko with zigzag and move the center stone as an altar before which may
prostrate worshipers of the Sun and Mother Earth.
Tambomachay
Tambomachay or Tampumachay is known for its canals and waterfalls that show the progress of the architects and hydraulic engineers Inca. Tambomachay was considered a center of worship and homage to water.
Pisac
The main square of Pisac is a fun place full of color and various items for sale. This town is famous for its astronomical observatory. Písaq is a town built on the remains indigenous mestizo by Viceroy Francisco de Toledo (the same as that approved the dismemberment of Tupac Amaru. In Písaq, you can attend a mass in Quechua means of indigenous and regional varayocs or mayors. Likewise, agronomists can see how the Incas solved the problem of planting on the slopes of the hills.
Moray
Here are four concentric circular stone structures forming a kind of ring to be widen as they rise. Its buildings are supported by strong walls of stone around the main building you can see platforms that form a sort of fitting. Some argue that these constructions may have served as terraces and amphitheater for civic and religious ceremonies, not only for agricultural use.
Maras
The importance of this town is caused by the extraction of salt from the time of the Incas was very
important for the mineral essential for human consumption at the time of the Colony continued its importance is demonstrated by the large installed Jesuit Community in the area of today can appreciate the beautiful carved doorways in the houses that belonged to the priests.
Likewise are the beautiful ruins of Moray, according to experts was a center of experimentation with crops used by the Incas for the acclimatization of the product brought in from other areas.
Ollantaytambo
The archaeological site of Ollantaytambo is another monumental work of Inca architecture. It has been built on two mountains in a strategic location overlooking the entire valley. Was a military, religious, administrative and agriculture.
Admission is by a gate called Punku-punku made of stone and imperial double jamb. It is the entrance to a city with a legendary reputation. We must begin to climb some steps up rigorously well-planned and is the masterpiece of architects and stonemasons Incas.
Ollantaytambo is the only Inca town which is preserved almost intact and their houses still serve as homes where their descendants dwell. The design of the city, its axles, its urban structure, the beauty of the volumes and their play of light and shade attract visitors.
The main temple has a facade with six monoliths of pink granite brought from elsewhere and assembled in the stone perfectly.
Chinchero
It's a town that also preserves the style of the time. Well this is where the tourist area is located, to buy
items, clothing, accessories, etc. is there in that place where tourists are located, ie foreigners who buy souvenirs to take home.
[Edit] Columbian Cemetery
On the heights of Pisac are the remains of a pre-Columbian cemetery, probably the largest ever found in America.
[Edit] crops on slopes
Terraces at Pisac.
With slopes of 45 degrees, the Incas found the solution to their crops in Pisac and elsewhere: Platforms. These engineering works are agricultural terraces of two or three meters wide, suitable for planting. The platforms are designed so harmoniously that you can see combinations of concentric semicircles on the slopes of the hills.
This was a pragmatic solution so that the Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Mao Zedong) the export to China to resolve the problem of planting in the hills. The system is currently used in Tachay, one of the best known agricultural empires of China.
Machu Picchu
A 110 km. from Cusco to Machu Picchu (4 pm) At 8 km. from Machu Picchu to the Citadel (20 min. by bus)
The archaeological site is located at the top of the mountain Machu Picchu (in Quechua means old mountain or ride more). In front of Machu Picchu, you can see the imposing Huayna Picchu (young or ride) from where you get a different picture of the citadel.
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