Although Machu Picchu is the most famous site in the Sacred Valley, and is certainly spectacular, I am so glad we had the time to explore some of the other sites and to learn more about Inca history and culture. Our guide, who happened to also be named David but pronounced Daveed, was very well-read on the history and archeology. He has guided hikes up the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu more than 900 times and wants to retire - to save his knees - and become a high school history teacher. He also grew up in a local Quechua village - we couldn’t have asked for a better guide. I will keep referring to him as Daveed, to distinguish him from David.
Daveed often disputed the more common theories about Machu Picchu saying, “I’m a little bit angry with the books….” or more specifically, “with the National Geographical Society….” I had read the article he was disputing that proposed that Machu Picchu was the summer residence or vacation home of the Inca, the king of the people. But, as Daveed said, “there was no such thing as ‘vacation’ in Inca times.” Instead, Daveed referred to other archeologists such as Kenneth Wright (We’ll have to buy some of his books when we get back.) who talks about Machu Picchu and other sites as marvels of civil engineering. According to him, and Daveed, Cusco and the settlements in the Sacred Valley including Machu Picchu, Pisaq, and Ollantaytambo (where we stayed), made up a network of cities occupied by thousands of people year round. I won’t try to relate everything that Daveed told us -- you can read Wright’s book yourself -- but I will share some of the details i can remember with the photos below.
Here are some of the picturesque terraces used for agriculture. There are a number of underground springs that the inhabitants used for their water source but the terraces did not require irrigation. They received their moisture from the clouds and rainfall.
In this photo, you can see the overall layout of the town with some buildings in layers on the left, the central grassy plaza in the middle and more buildings on the right. The slanted roofs would have been covered with thatching. It does seem to be much more than one would build for just a “summer residence”.
Behind the town, partly covered with clouds, there is a peak with a trail to the top where they built two or three houses. From this high viewpoint the architects or designers of Machu Picchu planned the overall layout. There was a similar location on a peak behind us and a third far to the right. Apparently there were runners that carried messages back and forth among the planners as they laid out the town. Each of the major settlements is laid out in the shape of an animal that was sacred, or important, to the culture. Machu Picchu’s animal seems to be an enigma -- Daveed said it is the puma, but I saw a picture that depicted it as a lizard, and there are others who claim it is the condor. Perhaps the designers had all three in mind -- who knows?
What is certain is the precision of the stonework throughout the complex. The hallways are level and straight and set at specific angles.
I thought I was getting that shot without any tourists but apparently David was peeking around the corner.
The gateways and doorways are all perfectly constructed also.
Below is the observatory with windows precisely set to catch the sun on important days of the year.
And here is the Temple of the Condor. With some imagination, you can see the wings in the faces of the rocks slanting up and outward with the head and beak represented by the stones on the ground in front.
Here is one last beautiful shot showing the use of the contours of the mountain top.
And here is a photo that David got of a cute llama butt overlooking the terraces. Apparently llamas usually hang out at higher elevations but they keep some around machu picchu for the tourists to photograph.
All in all, it is quite an experience walking through those ancient ruins that seem so permanent, feeling the sun and the wind, and getting a sense of amazing minds at work so long ago.
Next, we’ll go to the other sites we visited in the Sacred Valley.
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