Friday 13th February 2026. Peru. Cusco.
Sue’s alarm is set for 05.30, mine for 05.50 and at 06.15 we are collected from a pick-up point just 60m down the hill from our hotel. We are the first so commandeer the best seats behind the driver[1] for our day out to the Sacred Valley with Victor, our guide. By the time all the pick-ups have been picked up we are 18 in total on the bus.
First stop, near Chinchero (3762m above sea level), for an unintentionally hilarious textiles demonstration. The local/ethnic woman has learned her script phonetically and it is mostly unintelligible, “Baby alpaca or maybe alpaca?” to describe genuine versus synthetic products.
Then onwards, or, rather, upwards, to Chinchero Inca fortress/temple ruins where a festival is in full swing complete with band and dancers.
Chinchero comprises steep terraces carved out of the mountainside. It is believed that on this site these were not used for agriculture or as a fortress defence, rather for celebration, fiesta or worship to the higher powers of the sun, moon, stars and weather.
The Incas were excellent craftsmen, builders and intelligent thinkers and planners. For example, in when the Spanish conquered and ousted the Incas they razed most Inca temple to the ground and built catholic churches and cathedrals over them. When earthquakes hit the Inca foundations stood firm and the Spanish buildings collapsed. Likewise in the 1950s when an earthquake hit Peru and Cusco many new builds and larger building collapsed.
Inca era walls. Perfect alignment, no cement needed, you couldn't even slip a sheet of paper between the stones, withstand earthquakes.
However, the Incas didn’t write anything down so what is known about them is anecdotal or open to scientific interpretation.
On the outskirts of Chinchero, a small town with not much else going for it other than the ruins, an International Airport is being developed to bring tourists to Machu Picchu. Currently tickets to visit Machu Picchu are limited to 5,200 per day with prices between $200 and $500. When the airport is open for business ticket numbers will rise to 16,000 per day. Clearly, the infrastructure to support this – roads, onward transport , hotels, drivers etc, etc, - will provide employment opportunities but at the expensive of massive disruption to the current way of life. A few will get very, very rich.
Lima and Cusco, who already have international airports, are up in arms at being bypassed and the loss of tourist trade and income.
Next stop Moray. Three enormous sink holes carved out in circular terraces believed to have been used for agriculture with different crops chosen to be grown at each level of the sink hole to maximise production. Healthy eucalyptus trees further up the hillside indicated a plentiful water supply which was channelled down to irrigate the terraces.
Bearing in mind that there terraces are centuries old, and despite having it explained to me several times, I can’t get my head around whether they were constructed the bottom level up or top down. Either way involves an awful lot of labour. What is known from recent research is that they are constructed with layers on topsoil, sand, gravel and boulders to ensure good drainage.
Somewhere between Moray and our third stop at Ollantaytambo there is a visit to the 400+ year old Salinas de Maras[2], one of the largest salt extraction centres of prehispanic origin in the Urubamba Province in Cusco in southeast Peru. Sitting at an elevation of 3,200 m above sea level it is still operational and now in private cooperative ownership.
My head is spinning trying to figure out how the sink hole terraces were constructed and now gets totally blown at how the fresh water spring that feeds the salt pans appears to flow uphill. I can’t figure it out.
Ollantaytambo. Ollan: name of the Inca settlement. Tay (Tai): king. Tambo: his name.
Colossal tiers of terraces known as the gateway to Machu Picchu. At the highest terrace there is an actual gate and then there are one or two more enormous peaks to scale and you will be in the foothills of Machu Picchu.
The other Badly Packed Traveller at the gateway to Machu Picchu.
At the level of the gate four 80 ton slabs have been dragged up the mountainside and stand erect with perfect joints. You can just about make out some shamanistic etchings and carvings on them.
From the terraces you can look back down the Sacred Valley and across to the opposite mountainside where the knowledgeable Incas built seed stores. Also, a couple of rock formations that look like faces, which may have been carved to look like Kings. Or maybe that’s just a happy coincidence.
After an excellent all-you-can-eat buffet (included in the overall price for the day) our last stop is at Pisaq. By now I am done in and can’t do justice to any more ruins or terraces. In Pisaq to see some silversmithing is a visit too far and I am glad when we are herded back onto the bus and heading for Cusco.
[1] Boleto Touristico del Cusco parcial Valle Sagrado para tourista extranjero. Calle Arequipa A-2 Urb. Bario Profesional. T: +084 261465 E: [email protected] www.cosituc.gob.pe
[2] MRWW+G8W, Urubamba 08655, Peru. T: +51 984 940 670
