Pisac and the Sacred Valley Don't put anything here Don't put anything here Page Content Page Name (for URL) Page Title Breadcrumb Text On our second day after arriving to Cusco, we started on a trip of the sacred valley. The Sacred Valley ("Vale Sagrado") is carved by [Rio Urubamba](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urubamba), which starts somewhere not too far from Cusco. As it moves away from Cusco the valley lowers in elevation, eventually dropping into Amazonia where the Urubamba joins the Amazon river and eventually makes its way to the Atlantic. The sacred valley was the heartland of the Inca Empire and is covered with numerous ruins, the most notable of them being Pisaq, Ollantaytamo and Machu Picchu. From Cusco, one can take a bus to Pisaq (about 1,5 hours), then another bus to Ollantaytambo (2 hours). From there, there are only two ways to continue to Machu Picchu - a ridiculously expensive train or a guided trek (The Inca Trail - even more expensive). We started with a bus ride to Pisaq, where we stopped at a colorful Sunday market: <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2005-12-18-a-pisac-market/20051218_007_5942 2005-12-18-a-pisac-market/20051218_005_0775 2005-12-18-a-pisac-market/20051218_006_8688 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> Afterwards, we negotiated a taxi ride up to Pisac ruins. Pisac ruins are supposed to be amongst he most extensive in the area, some people say more so than Machu Picchu. <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_036_6443 The town 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_027_6637 Perfect stonework 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_019_7198 Agricultural terraces ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_039_2336 The temple 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_038_1553 Temple detail 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_025_2259 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_029_0970 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_046_5831 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_034_5399 2005-12-18-b-pisac-ruins/20051218_048_7416 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> The pictures show two types of stonework: the more simple piling up of stones used for fortifications and residences vs. the perfectly fitting carved stones used for the temples. Don't put anything here Don't put anything here Advanced Fields Category 2002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014E. AsiaE. EuropeL's FamilyL's FriendsN. AmericaN. EuropeS. AmericaS. AsiaW. EuropeY & LY's FamilyY's Friends Prototype Redirect Permissions0 Actions Don't put anything here Config Markup Module HTML/Meta/Keywords HTML/Meta/Description Save Hook HTML Fields Main Head Body Header Menu Logo Page Content Template Sidebar Footer Tags Allowed for XSSFilter HTTP Fields Cache-Control Expires Guru Fields Templates Translations Fields Edit UI Admin Edit UI A summary of your changes Edit Summary Don't put anything here save preview cancel
