If I had a bucket list, one of the top few items would have been ticked once I saw Machu Picchu with my own eyes. This place is a true wonder and we spent the full day exploring every corner of the site. It must also have been a special day for two new brides-to-be who suddenly saw their boyfriends on one knee! However, there are many other lesser known and unique treasures throughout this area, aptly called the Sacred Valley.

For many months of travel, from as far away as Argentina, we have seen reminders of the Inca’s domination of this land. There have been walking paths, tombs, mummies, artefacts and a variety of ruins, even astrological observatories. It was quite a build-up, however I wasn’t quite prepared to be as enthralled as I was by Cusco, the centre of the Inca Empire.

Throughout the city there were many original Inca walls and buildings incorporated into colonial and modern buildings. They reminded me of the work of a skilled carpenter with fine joinery, but these walls were made of very hard stone. Each block was shaped to exactly fit with the next and it took one person a month to carve a single 50kg stone. As some pieces were many tonnes each, it was difficult to imagine the time and labour needed for these massive projects. It certainly made a visit to a café, or even the occasional baño, more fascinating if it was built incorporating an old Inca wall.

In nearby Ollantaytambo, behind all the tourist restaurants, the village still lives within the original Inca buildings and streets. Even the fresh water irrigation channels are still flowing. There is an impressive fort built on a hill surrounded by agricultural terraces. We were exhausted just walking to the top, however the Inca managed to carry the heavy rock from the quarry six kilometres away. To get stone blocks across the river, it was easier for the Inca to divert the river around them!

The ride alone to Moray, amongst snow-capped ranges, was worthwhile, but we were fascinated by the supernatural looking circular terraces found there. Here the Inca virtually controlled the climate, creating an experimental agricultural lab on a huge scale (it is thought). In nearby Maras, the side of a slope was converted to a bizarre array of white ponds used by the Inca to harvest salt from the natural salt springs. Papas fritas must have been popular then too!

If Spanish colonial or religious history is more your thing, there is enough to keep you occupied in Cusco. The cathedral took 100 years to build and was impressive not just for the building itself but the extent of the excellent and some controversial colonial artwork housed inside. Included is El Negro or “Lord of the Earthquakes”, the most worshipped figure in Cusco, which is a carved black Christ on a crucifix. There’s a carving of Saint Antonio de Padua, the saint of lost objects whom single women pray to for a fiancé. Around the corner is Saint Pedro, the saint these wanted men turn to, to free themselves from women’s prayers. An anonymous painter added a twist to the last supper, showing Jesus and the twelve disciples feasting on a meal of guinea pig, a local delicacy. The most significant historical artefact for us was the Conquest Cross, the first cross to arrive in South America, which was held high and carried around Peru to convert the indigenous to Christianity. It is ironic that today, only one service a year is offered in the local and widely spoken Quechan language. It happens to be the most popular service of the year.

Cameras were forbidden in the cathedral so you will just have to go yourself to see it. Some of our other photos are below and more are online here. I recommend adding this whole region to your own bucket list.

Posted by Matt

Inca ruins appear by the road on the way into Cusco.

Cusco’s beautiful main plaza with Cusco Cathedral on the left

Original Inca stone walls incorporated into more modern buildings.

In the highlands we had our first snow of the trip.

The ruins at Ollantaytambo.

This giant wall was being constructed at the time of the Spanish invasion.

A classic doorway.

This was the view of Machu Picchu from the top of Putucusi. The squiggly line is the road the buses use to take you up there.

The Temple of the Sun, the only round building at Machu Picchu.

The strange terraces of Moray. The Inca were able to get a 15 degree celsius temperature difference between the top and bottom layers. This meant they could experiment growing different crops at different climates (they think).

The evaopration salt pans of Maras.

Riding back to the hotel. It doesn’t get much better!