Sacred Valley

We took a day off from the tours to relax on Thursday. Then Friday morning we were off again for a tour of the Sacred Valley. The tour group came to our hostel to pick us up. We started about 830 am for a full day lasting until around 7pm. We got in the bus to head out for a great day! Our first stop was a little market for a couple bananas and a baño and to buy some gifts.

Pisac was the next stop and it was very cool. It was very high up and was quite a hike to the top. It was a good way to start the morning and get the legs moving. We spent over an hour checking out the site. Next we went to our buffet lunch which was awesome. Salads, fresh guacamole and three different meat choices. A nice break and some fuel for our busy afternoon.

Ollantaytambo was our next stop and it was our favourite of the day. I slept after my huge lunch and the hour drive and woke up staring at this magnificent monument. This was the place of the last stand of the Inca Empire. There were many cool sights. The face of the Inca warrior that is facing perfectly east to receive the first sunlight each day. Also the face of the old man with the beard in the middle of the mountain, half eroded but easy to spot. We spent over two hours here enjoying it's splendor.

Next we were off to our last stop of the day. Chinchero was interesting - it is the place where they still make textiles in the same way as the ancient Incans. A young girl talked to us and showed us how they used llama fur and sheeps wool to make clothes etc. It was neat to see the items they used to dye the fibers. The different plants they used for the colours and what the colours mean to them "symbolically ". We should have had more dineros with us to support them but we missed a good chance to buy some hand made articles.

It was a great day and we enjoyed it immensely! Hope you enjoyed our details. Love and miss everyone!

Top of the valley heading down to Pisac

Pisac Ruins

Friends at lunch

Ollantaytambo ruins - amazing!!

Ollantaytambo ruins across the valley - see the old man with the beard in the middle? The structures on the sides are their "fridges", where they kept all their produce and meat at higher altitude as it´s that much colder up there.

Further out view of the Ollantaytambo ruins across the valley. The Inca warrior face is on the far left.

Ollantaytambo ruins. For LOTR fans, they reminded us of Helms Deep!!

Gorgeous sunset enroute to the last stop on the tour.

 Ladies weaving at Chinchero.