Pisaq and Ollantaytambo, Peru

A dog and a monkey?


The sun setting above the Inca fortress located on the hillside above town.


This is the town of Ollantaytambo. This picture shows original Inca roads, walls, and irrigation still in use today. This town has been described as one of the best surviving examples of Inca city planning.

Terraces

These are Inca tombs. The cliffs behind the Pisaq site contain hundreds of Inca tombs that were plundered by grave robbers.

Pisaq Ruins

Pisaq Ruins. The trapezoidal windows and doors were typical of all of the Inca ruins.

Corn, corn, and more corn.

The town of Pisaq

The road from the center of Pisaq up to the ruins.
(It also felt like going around a race track)

June 5

Peru was the end of our South America part of the trip, and time is not always on our side….(although we are not complaining J) we opted to do our own two day trip to Machu Picchu instead of a longer multi-day Inca Trail hike. In between our stay at Cusco we left early Friday for Aguas Calientes (the closest town to Machu Picchu) visiting Pisaq and Ollantaytambo along the way. Pisaq is a small colonial village that sits beside a river with a large Inca Ruin on the mountain side above. It is the starting point of the Sacred Valley. Ollantaytambo is another Inca village (the next stop on our trip toward Aguas Calientes). Its narrow cobblestone streets have been continuously inhabited for over 700 years and it is a great example of Inca city planning. It has a large Inca fortress on the hillside above it.