Sacred Valley & Ollantaytambo Ruins

This morning, we explored part of Urubamba and Yucay cities. Urubamba is supported by some tourism, but both are mostly quiet agricultural towns.

In the afternoon, we toured the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo, an ancient complex of temples and terraces towering high over the valley. This was the last stand of the Incas in their defense against the Spanish conquistadors. When the conquistadors came, they destroyed a lot of the temple complex and appointed a new Inca king. The king gathered his people and ran to the mountains. Along the way, he destroyed part of the Inca trail so the Spanish could not follow them. Because of this, the Spanish conquistadors never found Machu Picchu. This is why Machu Picchu is one of the most well-preserved, complete Inca cities that remained.

That evening, we enjoyed a traditional dinner with a Peruvian family in their countryside home. We had delectable home-cooked Peruvian specialties and we were able to visit with the family.