Sacred Valley to the Amazon

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Thursday, 11 April 2024 - Flew from Arequipa to Cusco, then drove to the Sacred Valley, explored the Pisac Archaeological Site with terraces, ruins, and impressive Inca stonework, walked through the Pisac market, had lunch with the guide and driver, and ended the day at a historic Spanish hacienda hotel, enjoying a Cusqueña beer in the evening.

The countryside looking back at Cusco from a pass in the Andes at 12,000 feet — The countryside looking back at Cusco from a pass in the Andes at 12,000 feet.

The Andean foothills crisscrossed with Inca terraces — The Andean foothills crisscrossed with Inca terraces.

The Sacred Valley carved by the Urubamba river — The Sacred Valley carved by the Urubamba river.

Beautiful Andean foothills towering over the valley — Beautiful Andean foothills towering over the valley.

The terraces of the Pisac Archaeological Site — The terraces of the Pisac Archaeological Site - in the background you can see the remains of the city over the terraces.

The Inca city of Pisac — The Inca city of Pisac.

Terraces primarily used for farming and preventing erosion — Our first encounter with terraces - primarily used for farming, but they also control erosion and prevent large landslides during frequent earthquakes.

Each of the terraces is about 6 feet tall.

Trails connecting the destroyed Inca town to the terraces — The town complex covered about 160 acres before being destroyed.

Here you can see the trails built to move from the town to the terraces and structures on the ridge line.

valley floor — Back in the 1400's the terraces would have gone all the way to the valley floor.

Virginia Ann and Cal standing in a gate to the complex with the valley floor — Virginia Ann and Cal standing in a gate to the complex. In the background is the valley floor.

Because the temperature is constant and there is no frost, the people in the Sacred Valley can grow just about anything throughout the year.

Pisac was built as a multipurpose site by Inca emperor Pachacuti around 1440 — Inca emperor Pachacuti built Pisac around 1440. Pisac was constructed as a multipurpose residence, citadel, observatory, and religious site.

Rocks cut to fit the bedrock perfectly — We would see amazing rock work on our trip. The rocks here are cut to fit the bedrock perfectly.

Destruction of Inca complex by Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish conquerors — Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish conquerors destroyed the Inca complex in the early 1530's.

Stonework that has survived several earthquakes — The stonework remaining has survived several earthquakes.

Large niche in the building — Common in the buildings were niches - some small, as if shelves, others large like this one.

Cliffs near Pisac containing burial holes — Cliffs near Pisac, which contain holes used for burials.

Walking through the Pisac market — After scrambling around the Pisac Archaeological Site, we returned to the town of Pisac for a walk through the market.

Handicrafts on display in the Pisac market — Lots of handicrafts on display in the market.

Main street of the Pisac market — The main street of the market.

Eating lunch with guide and driver near Pisac — Eating lunch just outside Pisac with Chris, our guide, and our driver.

Our picnic dessert during lunch — The food was great - this is our picnic dessert.

Hacienda church built for family and workers — After a late lunch, we traveled to our hotel, which was an old Spanish hacienda.

This is the church built on the hacienda property for its family and workers.

Interior of the hacienda church — The interior of the hacienda church - hard to believe it was just for a single family.

Cal enjoying Cusquena beer — Cal enjoying our new favorite local brew - Cusquena beer.

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