Wandering through Inca Ruins

By The Family


Lima was great. We did a lot of walking throughout parts of the city. We saw the famous Plaza de Armas and the changing of the guard. We explored the catacombs at the Monastery of San Francisco and saw a library that was nearly 600 years old and looked like something out of Harry Potter with two spiral staircases to a balconies filled with old books. We walked along the ocean cliffs and saw lots of gardens filled with flowers. We also met Liana’s aunt and uncle for lunch at a famous seafood place. When Monday morning came, we were sad to leave our bed & breakfast by the sea.

After a short flight to Cusco, we had an exhilarating drive filled with breathtaking views and heart stopping drop-offs as our taxi driver barreled down straight-aways, breaking just before hairpin turns. Surrounding us were mountains and valleys, and the air was filled with the pleasant smells of eucalyptus groves. Our new bed and breakfast is set outside of town in a quite, green valley surrounded by towering peaks. After exploring the small town of Pisac in the morning, we rested up for our first big hike in the mountains.

Today, we went to see ruins that lie high above Pisac on a triangular plateau with steep gorges on both side. The ruins are famous because the area was used by the Incas for military, agricultural, and religious purposes. To get there, we took a taxi up, up, up a mountain. Then we walked around old paths with an English-speaking guide.

We saw lots of ruins made from giant stones. There were homes for the royal people and the workers. The homes made with big smooth stones were for the royal people. The normal people had houses made out of smaller and rougher stones. We also saw fountains that people had to wash their bodies in before they went in the Sun temple. All over the place, there were terraces that were built into the mountain. The terraces are joined by diagonal stones set into the terrace walls that were used as stairs to move from one terrace to another. They used the terraces to grow food. They used to grow 250 kinds of corn but now the people who live in Pisac only grow 15 kinds of corn.

Above the terraces are footpaths that hug the cliffs and lead from one section of the ruins to another. There was also a big military fort and granaries to store their grains. The fort allowed the Incas to guard the Urabamba valley that lies below and also protected the paths that led to jungle to the east. Everything was really high above the valley.

After we explored the ruins, we climbed down, down, down. We learned that there were three types of animals that were important to the Incas. One was the condor for flight. Another was the puma for power. And the third was the serpent for intelligence. We also learned that a spiral is the symbol of the Pachamama, which is the “mother earth”. When we were back in town I (Micayla) bought a pendant of a serpent.

Tonight, we had our last meal in Pisac and sat on a balcony watching all the people who sell things to tourists break down their stalls. We are very glad we came to Pisac and are looking forward to our next stop up the Sacred Valley, which is Ollantaytambo.