If I were going to have a short visit on Earth,
I had to do everything possible to visit it now.
I had to do everything possible to visit it now.
On our second day in Urubamba, we decided to take a day trip to Ollantaytambo area to see the ruins, salt and rice fields. We hired a taxi driver to drive us around this areas. We are continually amazed by the dramatic views that we have seen in Peru and been blessed with great weather the whole time we were there. Let the pictures speak for itself.
Our first stop was The Terraces of Pumatalis in Ollantaytambo. This area is often dubbed as the Living City of the Incas. Peru was conquered by Spain, and slowly the Incans retreat up the mountains so they wouldn't find they. This ruins that you see now, they were able to protect Ollantaytambo fortress against the Spaniards. Ollantaytambo is also one of the best preserver sites, with the old walls of houses still standing and the water still running through channels that dates back to 15th century. Till this very day, people still live there.
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The 200 step climb to go to the top.
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This Temple of the Sun/Wall of Six Monoliths is one of the great stonemasonry achievements of the Incas - six huge pink granite blocks, amazingly cut, polished, and fitted together; they appear to be part of rooms that was never completed.
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Our next stop was Moray Agricultural Terrraces. Many think that this place was an important agricultural experimentation centre for the Incas - through the use of concentric terraces and because the temperature was different in each of the levels.
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And for our last stop, we visited the Salt Fields at Maras, Peru.
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After a long day of seeing the ruins and breathtaking sights left and right, we went back with our tummy full and we are off to bed. We are excited for tomorrow, this is what we came here for, to see Machu Picchu - one of the world's greatest wonder. We decided to pack light going to Aguas Calientes (the town at the foot of Machu Picchu) and plan to leave our extra luggage at the hotel. We booked an overnight stay at Aguas Calientes so we can catch sunrise at the top.
Categories: South America, Peru
