An Inca town
Trip Start
Dec 30, 2007
1
38
50
Trip End
Jun 22, 2008
Ollantaytambo,
Sacred Valley,
Peru
Friday, May 9, 2008
We split from our Machu Picchu group because we wanted to spend longer at the ruins (a very good decision) and thought that as we were passing through this famous town, we ought to take a look at it. It is famous as a relic of the Incas.
Much of the original stonework remains, and water channels (recreated in this case) course down the streets as they would have done originally, and are still used; we actually saw a man filling his bucket from the channel that runs down the centre of the road. Inside one courtyard constructed of classic battered (leaning) Inca stone, we could see the typical Inca niche where ceramics would have once been displayed. It was a fascinating place, and in its own way, more interesting than Machu Picchu.
The town has its own ruin in the colossal fort or religious complex (authorities differ) on the hills above the town
inca stonework with additions
. We didn't go, because I was too sick to appreciate it and it seemed unlikely to offer us anything we hadn't already seen. Instead we climbed a shorter way up the other side of the valley to look at the constructions there and admire the view. These puzzle everyone, but the favoured theory is that they are granaries. The tall narrow design seems odd because the building uses a lot of material for the storage space gained, and it must have been horrible carrying the stuff up the steep hill too. The town is notable for a very helpful an enthusiastic tourist information centre. The woman there was so proud of the town and all the projects they were working on. When I asked if the minor Inca sites in the area had an entry fee she enthusiastically said 'not yet; we are working on it.' I personally did not feel that this represented glorious progress, and I must say that it was quite refreshing to be able to do something without having to pay an entry fee.
