Peru

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is a beautiful valley near Cusco home to important archaeological sites, picturesque villages, spectacular natural landscapes, and vibrant culture. The Incas supposedly considered this valley sacred because of its exceptional fertility and natural beauty. Today, the Sacred Valley of the Incas attracts thousands of tourists yearly who explore its historical sites, natural landscapes, and traditional villages and get to know its inhabitants on the way to Machu Picchu.

A deep and wide valley surrounded by high mountains

The geography of the Sacred Valley is unique and spectacular. It is located at a high altitude, which gives the region a cool and dry climate. The surrounding mountains offer a breathtaking view of the valley and its spectacular natural landscapes, such as dazzling waterfalls and crystal-clear rivers.

The Valley extends nearly 80 kilometers from San Salvador to Piskakucho, the village that is the starting point of the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. Its average altitude is 2700m, and on both sides, the slopes are steep and go up to glacial summits at more than 5000 m like the Sahuasiray and the Pitusiray, the Chicón, the Pumahuanca, the Halancoma and the Verónica, whose terminal tongue of the glaciers overhangs the rainforests of altitude of Machu Picchu.

The river that formed it is the Vilcanota that lower down is called the Urubamba before joining the río Apurimac - Ene to form the Ucayali that towards Iquitos will create the Amazon and joining the basin of the Marañon. The Vilcanota is one of the most distant sources of the Amazon with the Apurimac. Both have their sources in the southern Andes. In the Valley, the river meanders quietly, but its rages remain in the memories. The last one dates back to 2010. That year the Río Vilcanota washed away dozens of bridges, destroyed thousands of houses and hectares of various crops, and destroyed the railroad that leads to Machu Picchu.

A climate that attracted the great Inca families who lived there

The Sacred Valley of the Incas has a rich history from the pre-Inca period. The Incas conquered the region in the 15th century and developed a flourishing culture that lasted until the Spanish colonization in the 16th century. The climate is pleasant there, and the Valley was the vacation preferred by the prominent imperial Inca families, the "panacas." Sayri Tupac had a beautiful palace built there, of which we still see some beautiful vestiges in Yucay**. The Palace of *Huayna Capacc* in Urubamba, of which a part of the surrounding wall surrounds the city cemetery, allows us to imagine the magnificence of the life of the panacas. Wiracocha Incahad built a magnificent palace to Huchuy Qosqo, made of numerous buildings on a system of complex terracing to compensate for the slope and form a vast esplanade in front of the main palace.

The first granary of Peru

All along the valley, the numerous fields make it one of the main granaries of the Andes. If we look at the geography of the Andes, only some agricultural spaces can feed a critical population. The region of Cusco along the río Vilcanota, linked to the plateau of Chinchero and to the plain of Anta and also to the tropical valley of La Convención downstream from Machu Picchu is a crucial agricultural region in Peru. More in the north, the valley of Andahuaylas and especially that of the río Mántaro and the plain around Cajamarca are the big Andean centers of agricultural production and represent only a tiny percentage of the whole Andean territory. The Sacred Valley of the Incas is genuinely a little paradise, and one can easily imagine what it was like in the time of the Incas and why they developed a great empire from this base.

Urquillos and Huayllabamba are villages where the cultivation of flowers and especially that of white corn, whose ears are considered the largest in the world with grains of the size of an inch. Some families welcome visitors, and an ancient Inca path descends there from the heights where the site of Chinchero is located.

Yucay is another traditional village of the Sacred Valley. It is known for its spectacular natural scenery, including majestic mountains and crystal-clear rivers. Visitors can Walk through the fields of corn, quinoa, and potatoes that border the village and the fruit orchards, such as apple, cherry, and plum trees. The large Inca terraces are populated with fruit trees, and the community's inhabitants cultivate many agricultural products.

The countryside of the Sacred Valley is dotted with traditional villages where the inhabitants live according to ancestral traditions. Visitors can meet local families, learn how to weave or cook traditional dishes and learn about local music, dance, and religious celebrations. Everywhere you can find tourist and non-tourist restaurants to taste the traditional gastronomy based on the great diversity of products grown in the Valley. The inhabitants of the Sacred Valley are proud of their cultural heritage and seek to preserve their traditions for future generations.

The Sacred Valley in the Inca period

Several production sites show the genius of the Incas and their ability to truly sculpt the mountains to optimize the agricultural land and, thus, production. Pisaq](pisaq) is one of the traditional villages of the Sacred Valley. It is known for its colorful artisanal market, where visitors can buy handmade clothing, jewelry, and art objects. The market is open every day and attracts tourists from all over the world. But the archaeological site of Pisaq shows an entire mountainside laid out in gigantic terraces that follow the contours of the land. At the top, the buildings are separated into two "quarters," one reserved for the elite and another with facilities of a cruder construction for the guardian of the site. Lower down and separated from the rest by an enclosure wall and monumental doors, the esplanade reserved for the temples and the intihuatana (the sunrise in Quechua) overhangs not only the terraces but also a large area of the Sacred Valley, from both sides of the end of a ridge, which allows dominating a vast territory. Then come the remains of the houses reserved for the workers and farmers and the granaries, oriented to the wind.

When we follow the course of the river from Pisaq passing near the villages of Lamay and Coya, we arrive at the city of Calca, a big town in total development. Then just after, under the mountains of the Pitusiray, the site of Urcos recently cleared and restored, shows another set of terraces in monumental cyclopean apparatus. A legend tells that an Inca who lived there had promised his daughter's hand to the one who would bring the water, allowing irrigation of these terraces' cultures. The terraces were supposed to give abundant harvests thanks to the perfect water conveyance systems built on the slopes of the mountains.

Continuing downstream, the most impressive thing about the plaza of Yucay is the church, which is the size of a cathedral and is bordered by two large parks where some of the most significant endemic trees in the region, the pisonay, can be seen. Yucay must have been an essential site for the Spaniards to build such a big church, just like in Chinchero or Huaro or Andahuaylillas, much more known. One quickly understands the importance of the place by going up the paths which allow crossing a system of terraces and irrigation immense. This work carried out by the Sapa Inca Huayna Capacc required pharaonic works. It is said that the emperor brought the earth of the terraces from the plain of Anta several kilometers from the Sacred Valley, all on the back of llamas and the back of men. Today, the site of Yucay is still used by the inhabitants who repair the terraces like in the Inca time.

After Yucay, there is Urubamba, Pichinccoto at the bottom of the salines of Maras, Yanahuara, and finally Ollantaytambo, whose imposing intihuatana rests on a set of terraces almost in balance. The ruins of Ollantaytambo](ollantaytambo_ruins) have always been seen as a massive stone-built Inca fortress that houses temples and terraces, but it is much more than that, and the old Inca village has been named the Indian capital of the world. Visitors can explore the archaeological sites and admire the breathtaking view of the valley from the heights of the fortress but also walk through the streets of the village, entering some of the ancient patios where houses from the Inca time are still occupied. It is also possible to go up in front of the fortress on ancient paths to admire the site from the front. The file Ollantaytambo says a lot more.

The inhabitants of the Sacred Valley

The inhabitants of the Sacred Valley are warm and welcoming and are proud of their rich cultural heritage and traditions. They are just as diverse and mixed as the majority of the inhabitants of Peru. They are also known for their delicious cuisine based on fresh local ingredients such as quinoa, trout, potatoes, avocados, and citrus fruits. Visitors can enjoy traditional Peruvian dishes in the Valley's restaurants. Lomo saltado and roasted cuy, in local restaurants or during meals in the homes of local people.

The Sacred Valley is also known for its religious celebrations, especially the feast of the cross, which takes place in May and celebrates the arrival of the harvest season. During this festival, people parade through the streets carrying crosses decorated with flowers, fabrics, and colorful ribbons. Dance is also an essential part of the culture of the Sacred Valley, with traditional dances such as the huayno and the Andean marinara.

Conclusion

From Pisaq until Ollantaytambo, the Sacred Valley of the Incas is a space propitious us only to the discovery of the big sites of the Inca space but also of the culture and that has perpetuated itself by mixing and transforming itself but where the informed observer still guesses the traces of the pre-Hispanic past easily. Beyond, with its paths, its lodges from the simplest to the most luxurious, its centers of psychedelic retreats and yoga, its gastronomy so diversified whatever the adopted regime, its pleasant climate, and its landscapes, the diversity of its inhabitants, the Sacred Valley of the Incas is a place where the traveler wants to stay always much longer than he has foreseen it.