Just outside of Cusco, Peru lies the Sacred Valley, which
was the traditional homeland of the Inca Empire. I
definitely got my inner archaeology geek on as we
visited eight different ruins, all different from each
other in form and function.
Sacsayhuamán - Located just above Cusco, it served as
a fortress, with some stones weighing over 70 tons!
Q'enqo - Servied as a sacred sanctuary to fertility
Q'enqo
Puka Pukara - Used as a road control, administrative center, military
headquarters and food warehouse
Puka Pukara
Tambomachay - A resort for Inca royalty that included baths
Tambomachay
Chinchero - A farming center with large terraces
Moray - a huge number of circular concentric farming terraces, each
with it's own microclimate!
Moray
Ollantaytambo - An example of Pre-Columbian urban planning, is
one of the few places the Incas defeated the Spanish Conquistadors
Ollantaytamo
Pisac - A huge amount of farming terraces. We took a several
hour long hike through these ruins that kicked our butts at
over 11,000 feet in elevation.
Pisac
Pisac
