Day 1,045
Ollantaytambo
Initially we had come to Ollantaytambo because it was where we could cycle too and catch the train to the main event, Machu Picchu. So I didn't do any research or have any expectations. I took an instant dislike to it as we rode the final few hundred yards into the town. The road was all cobbles, really big, uneven cobbles, no wonder the Incas didn't have the wheel! Riding along that surface was sheer hell. Then we arrived into the town and I began to realise the real reason Tom had brought us here. Set in a valley with dramatic hills, well, actually snow capped mountains really, all around, it is an exceptionally beautiful place. There is even a glacier way above in the distance.
The village is laid out in a grid pattern, the narrow lanes barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. Water flows in channels at the side or centre of the cobbled lanes. Ancient adobe houses, some continually lived in since Inca times line the narrow lanes. It’s a joy to wander around and easy to immerse yourself into a lost world. Above us were the remains of the royal estate of Inca Emperor Pachacuti, who had taken this region for the Incas and built the town around the mid 1400s. He began an era of conquests that in 3 generations took the Incas from a dominant force around Cusco to rulers of a sizable part of South America. So it's reasonable to believe that Machu Picchu was perhaps constructed in his honour too. He is certainly credited with the origin and expansion of the Inca worship of the Sun.
When the Spanish arrived, Ollantaytambo was a stronghold for the Inca resistance, led by Manco Inca Yupanqui. Ultimately he abandoned the site, and today we can see the remains of many partially finished buildings. It gives us a clear view of the neat shapes left in the hill side where stones were excavated, but no clue as to how they did it. We were up early and beat the crowds, just a few dozen early risers joined us at the 7am opening time. The site is constructed on two sides of the valley, it was quite a trek up and down both sides. The threat of rockfalls has closed off some of the site but it was still fascinating and by the time we headed down the masses were arriving. Seeing this after Machu Picchu was certainly not second best, rather it was another fascinating experience and insight into those masters of engineering who still have experts stretching their heads over the stonework, the Incas.
