It is a pretty little town, built where the Patakancha River flows into the Urabamba, set round a main square, with the usual comings and goings.
We stayed at Picaflor Tambo, a friendly guesthouse where we were welcomed by Hilda and Lillian. Also staying were Lauren who is halfway though a 2 year volunteering programme with the Peace Corps and her mum Lynn who was visiting from Florida with whom we had several giggles over breakfast!
The side streets are cobbled, many with water courses running along them and there are still splendid Inca doorways to be seen.
There are a couple of traditional community courtyards or cancha each belonging to an ayllu or extended kinship group and shared by the four houses set round them and we went into one. Not only do the houses have guinea pigs running round the floor, they have ancestor’s skulls as a shrine on the wall.
There is a fair amount of traffic and lots of tourist coaches during the day, although quiet at night.
Ollantaytambo was captured and rebuilt by Pachacuti as a royal estate and ceremonial centre although the religious area remained unfinished. It was also the site of one of the few victories the guerrilla Inca forces had under Manco Inca. All his soldiers were arrayed on the terraces, with Manco himself astride a captured horse. Once the Spanish approached the terraces, water was released from the channelled waterways to flood the plain and it was only with luck that the conquistadors managed to ford the swollen river and retreat humiliated and wet.
We visited early, while the sun still shone on the terraces, and climbed the 200 steps to the temple entrance, an impressive door jamb, beside the Temple of the Ten Niches.
Then to six huge red granite slabs, part of the unfinished Temple of the Sun.
There are various stone slabs cut ready for use around the site as well as a system of water courses and fountains and a view down to the valley from the top.
We were tempted to cool our feet in the stream and joined a local chap who had been working in the fields.
On the opposite side of the valley are buildings believed to be granaries, as their position with more wind and lower temperature would have helped to prevent decay.
We also wandered round the outskirts of town and saw Punku Punku, a gate to the town …
… and some ruins called Quelloracay overlooking the river which may have been a noble residence, surrounded by terraces which, which now it is spring, have been planted with wheat and maize.
The main reason for stopping here is our visit to Machu Picchu, not by hiking the Inca Trail, but by train to Machu Picchu Pueblo which takes 90 minutes, and 30 minutes on the bus, upwards!
During the journey, we chatted with Keeley from Seattle, and Chris did a Pachacuti impression, improvising Inca Rail drinks mats for the Inca ear plugs! Inca men wore gold or silver plugs in the ears, which indicated their nobility. Their stretched piercings, which could reach the size of two inches, later inspired a Spanish nickname for the Inca people: orejones (“big ears”).
As the train carried us closer, the valley narrowed, the surrounding peaks grew higher and the vegetation around became more jungly (I love that word!)
Machu Picchu, meaning “old peak”, was first documented by Hiram Bingham in 1911, although there had been references to ruins previously and local people obviously knew it was there. There have been many theories, but it is now believed to be a royal estate built by Pachacuti. Sacred geography and astronomy would have been factors in the choice of location at 2492m, perched above a bend in the Urabamba river, surrounded by peaks with great views, as well as its agricultural potential to produce sufficient sacred coca and maize for the Inca nobles and priests in Cusco.
Our first great view was from the Guardhouse, across the whole site, with a blue sky and the sun shining and it certainly lived up to expectations, despite the number of tourists and the fact that it is such an iconic image. We felt a childish excitement to actually be there!
We then headed on a short hike to the Inca Drawbridge which followed a path round Machu Picchu mountain, through more jungly (that word again) undergrowth … giving us an impression of maybe what “The Inca Trail” would have been like! The bridge is a gap in the rock face, bridged by a narrow piece of wood that can be removed in the event of enemy attack, with a 1000ft fall for the unlucky!
We then explored the site, guidebook in hand. The Incas had no form of writing, only recording information using a quipus, a series of different coloured strings with knots used to communicate ideas, record information and keep track of the calendar, but which are no longer decipherable.
Also, Machu Picchu was not known to the Spanish, so no reports of the conquistadores mention it. In other words, a lot of what has been written about the site has later been discredited, and a large proportion is supposition, albeit based on evidence from other sites. We walked round, mainly admiring the incredible workmanship in the stonework and brute strength needed to erect some of the buildings …
… including the wall Hiram Bingham called “The most beautiful wall in America”.
So we saw the Temple of The Three Windows …
… The Principal Temple …
… and even the Grand Staircase and Artisans Wall.
The Temple of the Condor is theatrical! Craftsmen have embellished natural formations, with a triangular rock on the ground carved with eyes, beak and ruff to be the head of the condor and the two outstretched wings rising above.
We also appreciated the aesthetic of the masonry set against the backdrop of sky and mountains and the feeling that you are almost on a stage set before god and nature. Lots of nature in fact including a viscacha and the inevitable llamas!
The Incas worshipped Viracocha the creator god, but also many others and they occupied three realms – the celestial realm in the sky, represented by the condor, the inner earth realm, the domain of Pachamama or earth mother and the ancestors, represented by the snake and the outer earth where humans live, represented by a puma. Creatures that can broach realms, like frogs who live underwater and on land are particularly esteemed. Huacas, meaning sacredness, are also worshipped and are often natural features which bring them closer to the other realms like mountains reaching to the heavens and caves reaching downwards as well as immense rocks.
We can see several specially carved stones at Machu Picchu, Ceremonial Stone by the Guardhouse …
Sacred Rock resembling Mount Yanatin behind …
… Intiwatana echoing Huaca Picchu from the right angle …
… and even the sacred rock in the Temple of the Sun with a carved ledge bisecting sunlight at the solstice making a solar observatory.
Later, the sky started to darken as clouds gathered, the whole atmosphere becoming more dramatic …
… and then we had thunder and lightening, rain and finally a rainbow … magical!
We returned to Machu Picchu Pueblo, went for an early dinner and piscos in the warm while we dried out then ambled through the souvenir market, buying bracelets, llama pom-Poms and frogs!
Off Travelling Together 