El Valle Sagrado, or the Sacred Valley of the
Incas, is actually the Vilcanota/Urubamba River valley.
It is located about 10 miles north of Cusco, and extends
northwest through Pisac and Ollantaytambo. This entire
region, punctuated by Cusco, was the heart of the Inca
Empire from the 14th to the 15th centuries. As such, it
contains numerous impressive ruins. Many of the villagers
in this valley today live life much the same as they did
prior to the Spanish Conquest in 1532.
Cusco
"Our Father the Sun, having stated his will to his two children, dismissed them from his presence. They left Titicaca
and walked north and along the way. Wherever they stopped, they attempted to sink the golden rod into the earth...."
Garcilaso de la Vega, The Royal Commentaries,
1609
According to legend, Cusco (Qosqo in Quechua, or "earth's navel") is the place where the golden rod finally sunk into
the ground, and where Manco Capac founded his capitol city of the Inca Empire, in the 12th century. In the early 1400s
the ninth Inca, Pachucutec, began the expanding the Inca tribe. Pachucutec was a great urban developer, as well as
politician. He designed Cusco in the shape of a Puma, whose head and teeth are formed by the fortress of Saqsayhuaman.
He is also responsible for the building of Qorikancha, (garden of gold), the most important structure in the entire
empire. Qorikancha was covered with plates of gold, and its interior contained a series of temples dedicated to the
sun, moon, rainbow, stars, and thunder and lightning. Golden, bejeweled objects were found throughout, and the Temple
of the Moon was covered in sheets of silver. The courtyard, or "golden garden" contained life-size gold replicas of
the animals and plants of the kingdom.
Cusco displayed some of the finest
stonework in the empire, as well. The smallest stone
in Qorikancha is a one-inch plug, such was the precision
of the stonemasons. Another remarkable example is the
12 sided stone. By
the time Pizarro arrived in Cusco in 1533, Cusco truly
was the center of a thriving empire that the Inca called
Tahuantinsuy (4 directions). The empire extended
from Lake Tititcaca in the south to Lake Junin (currently
Ecuador) in the north. Pizarro wasted no time in looting
the city, completely stripping it of all gold, silver,
and jewels, and destroying most of the buildings. All
that remain are the foundations of several structures,
the walls of which serve as the bases of Spanish cathedrals,
convents, and government buildings. The destruction of
Cusco not only made the Conquistadors rich, but also effectively
wiped out the active Inca culture and religion, replacing
it with Spanish tradition and rule.
Modern Cusco is a fascinating mix of Inca and Colonial
architecture and culture. In a lasting tribute to Inca
skill, many extremely well-constructed Inca walls still
stand today - intact, smooth and held together by only
the precision of their angles and the gradual inward slope
of their planes. They have withstood more than one earthquake
that has leveled the Spanish buildings on top of them.
The Spanish Colonial architecture is also beautiful. In
the Plaza de Armas, The
Cathedral contains 400 colonial paintings, silver objects
of art, and a main altar completely covered in silver.
The convent of Santa Catalina contains important art and
carvings, and is, somewhat ironically, built on top of
what was the Inca residence of the chosen women. Many
churches and museums contain paintings of the Cusco style
developed by the Mestizo (Spanish and Indian heritage)
artists. They applied European styles to their own fairy-tale
and fable content. Unfortunately most of these early Mestizo
artists painted anonymously, by insistence of the Spanish.
Cusco is a charming and pleasant city. Quechua Indians
wear their colorful native dress, and the main square
is one of the best places to haggle with a street vendor
for an alpaca sweater. Food and drink options are varied
and tasty. Corn is an important staple of the region.
You can often find tamales and corn on the cob, or buy
chicha, a sweet drink made of purple corn and fruit.
Stuffed chili
peppers (rocotos) are a regional specialty.
Make sure you try the famous Peruvian Pisco Sour, a libation
made from a powerful white grape brandy. You may also
want to sample some coca tea. Many native Peruvians chew
on the leaf of the coca plant, as they have for hundreds
of years. The coca leaf produces
a mild stimulant effect that is supposedly an effective
treatment for low-intensity altitude sickness.
Saqsayhuaman is
the first important site outside of Cusco, on the way
to the Sacred Valley. Forming the head of the Puma shape
that outlines Cusco, it is comprised of three
superimposed platforms, whose edges are zigzagged
in the shape of the Puma's teeth. It was nearly impossible
to attack the fortress from the ground level, as an aggressor's
back was always exposed at some angle. A center field
beneath the zigzag walls is the site of the yearly Inti
Raymi festival, celebrating the winter solstice on June
24.
The huge stones that make Saqsayhuaman weigh up to 80 tons each, and required
one hundred men to move. It took more than 70 years and
the work of 20,000 people to finish building the Saqsayhuaman
fortress. Manco Inca used Saqsayhuaman during his rebellion
against the Conquistadors in 1535, as a base from which
to attack the Conquistadors in Cusco. Pizarro was able
to recapture it with the aid of 50 cavalrymen.
Further along in the Sacred Valley you'll come to the
Pisac ruins, a mountaintop
complex of overlooks and a main temple area. It is known
for its small, polished stones that fit perfectly together.
In the main ruins, which are reached by a two-hour, uphill
hike, you will find temples of the sun, moon, rain, rainbow,
and stars, as well as a few Inca crosses rising from the
ground.
The cross represents the different levels of existence:
The lower level signifies the underworld, and snake god;
the higher level, human existence, represented by the
jaguar or puma god; and the highest level, the celestial
plane, represented by the condor.
The town of Pisac is a small, friendly village that is largely unchanged since
the time of the Inca. A big craft and food market on Sundays,
and smaller one on Thursdays, is visited by tourists and
locals from miles around. Fried trout is the local delicacy,
which is prepared fresh when available.
Ollantaytambo is
basically the last stop along the Sacred Valley. It is
built into a steep mountainside, and was a strategic outpost
for defense, as well as a religious center. It is here
that Manco Inca retreated after his defeat at Saqsayhuaman.
He was nearly successful in holding off the Spanish at
Ollantaytambo, but after bringing in more troops, Pizarro
was successful in forcing his retreat, successfully ending
the native rebellion.
Ollantaytambo is made of enormous, stepped
terraces constructed of unbelievably huge stones.
The Ollantaytambo rock
quarry was across the river valley on the opposite
hillside. Workers moved stones used sloping planes, ramps,
and rollers. At the valley floor they actually diverted
the river around the rocks, rather than transport them
across the river.
