Mathilda's Peruvian Gap Year Adventures

Monday 7^th April

This weekend was a very buys weekend as I finally decided to buy the touristic ticket to see all the ruins in the area. This means I have 10 days to make the best of it and see all the ones I want to see (i.e. all of them). The great thing about visiting all these ruins now is that there aren’t that many tourists this time of year, I could really appreciate how peaceful they are.

I started out on Friday by going to Ollantaytambo in the morning to see the ruins there. To be honest, now that I have seen others as well I think they were the least impressive ones and the ones that I liked the less. They are very close to the town so easy to reach and probably the ones that require least walking. These ruins are known as ‘The Fortress’ and were a religious complex, with temples dedicated to many divinities. At the bottom there are a few ruins that used to be temples, and then going up the mountain are a series of sixteen massive stepped terraces. The stonework is impressive as it is extremely structured and it’s breath-taking to think how these ruins are still intact nowadays. Once walking up, there are some more ruins along the mountain where I wandered around. From the top, the view of Ollantaytambo was great, but in my opinion it is a town that is more appealing from the ground, because all its paved streets and old charming houses.

The ruins from the bottom

Me and the view :)

View of the terraces

 The next ruins I visited were the ones in Moray and they were simply amazing, probably my favourite ones so far. This site lies west the little town of Maras and is made of three ‘colosseums’ that the Incas used as a sort of open-air crop laboratory. Locally, they are known as the greenhouses of the Incas. It is said that each terrace has a different microclimate from those above and below. These ruins don’t have any great impressive structures, but I found them absolutely amazing. I think it is mainly because I find circular shapes very appealing to the eye. Also, the surrounding nature is really beautiful. The bright greens of the fields contrasting with the grey rocks made the terraces really stand out. There were only a few tourists around when I went, so I sat at the bottom of the terraces and enjoyed how calm the site is.

Ruins from above

Another one of the three 'colosseums'

Terraces

Sitting in Moray

Finally, on Sunday I visited the ruins in Pisac. These are some of the largest Inca ruins close to Cusco, and had lots of different purposes such as a defensive, religious and agricultural site. They were also described by some as one of the Incas’ ‘pleasure houses’ in the valley because of the stunning location and view they offer of the Urubamba River. The main ruins that are seen today have been dated to the reign of Pachacutec, to whom, it is said, the estate belonged. The walk up is very steep and does not take 45 minutes as locals say but around 1 hour and a half. I’ve noticed that Peruvians will never tell you they don’t know something when you ask for directions or time frames, they would rather completely invent an answer. Anyways, once I made it to the top I did realize the walk up was very worth it. There is a beautiful view of the Urubamba River, Pisac and fields. I also loved how the ruins are embedded in the nature, so you will see a waterfall between stone terraces and trees growing in between old ruins of houses. Another one of my favourite sites so far.

The terraces from the bottom

Terraces

View of the ruins and mountains

Made it to the top :)

Pisac and the valley from the top

View of the Urubamba River and the valley

Then, I walked through the crafts and food market that is so colourful and alive on Sundays. It is definitely one of my favourite markets that I have been to in Peru so far. Finally, I skyped to my parents that I am very looking forward to seeing in 5 weeks!

Food market

Craft market on the main plaza

Next post about the amazing ruins in Tipón, discovering more of Cusco; and to end a perfect week and weekend, a beautiful sunset on my way home :)

Pisac to Urubamba