Monday, November 28, 2011

The Sacred Valley (Chinchero)

Marcelo and I started off early on Tuesday, taking yet another surprisingly nice bus from yet another bizarrely dirty bus station in an otherwise decent Cuzcan neighborhood, this time destined for the typical Andean village of Chinchero, the former resort of Incan ruler Tupac Yupanqui.





The contemporary town sits just above an angled set of Incan farming terrazas.



The modern flora and fauna of Chinchero have made the terraces their own...


...including this adorable litter of piglets...


...who scampered back up them upon noticing me.


Unlike at Pisac, where the terraces were set into a mountain, those at Chinchero only range over a space of maybe 100 feet high, but they blend beautifully into the picturesque valley below.





Amongst them, the Incans carved throne-like seats into several large rock formations. And they're surprisingly comfy!





The Andean farming community surrounding Chinchero actively use some of the terrazas for their crops...


...and as extensions of their fields, lying just below.








And their livestock roams freely across the landscape...





... which was so lovely as to evoke scenes from fairytales...





... and for some reason reminded me of The Princess Bride. ;)





Eventually, Marcelo and I made our way back up to the village, where the church stands upon the remaining Inca walls...


... and the Andes loom in the background, including the imposing peak of Salkantay.





Along the streets, Andean women proffer their wares...


...and nearly every other building houses a traditional Andean looming shop.





After one last amble through the village, we hopped a bus to continue through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Meson De La Estrella,Cuzco,Peru

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