The Sacred Valley - Pisac

(I apologize for the lapse between posts. My intention is to post weekly, but holidays and a few other matters interfered with the best-laid plans.)
After leaving Cusco, the animal sanctuary was our first stop in the 'Sacred Valley of the Incas’, a seventy-mile stretch of land along the Urubamba River, from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The Inca believed that the valley was the earthly parallel of the milky band of light they saw in the night sky-- our galaxy, the Milky Way.  

  

Land in the Sacred Valley is very fertile. This is often true along rivers: during high-water season, the river waters flood the area leaving rich deposits behind. The farmland along the Urubamba River was a vital source of produce for the Inca Empire in the fifteenth century.
   
The Emperor Pachacutec was chiefly responsible for developing most of the Inca empire including this valley. This rich land belonged, not to the farmers, but to the Emperor. (For more information about Pachacutec’s reign and accomplishments in the mid-1400s, check  https://lnkd.in/eib4ZCh.)  

The fertile farmland of Pisac in the Sacred Valley

In Pisac, we visit the marketplace where Quechua Indians come to sell their handicrafts. Pisac’s market is especially busy on alternate days, beginning with Sunday.  This is not a busy day.

Pisac market at the foot of the terraced mountain 

What strikes me more than the market is, once again, the terraced mountainside leading to it. Inca engineering continues to amaze me.

Terraced mountainside leading to Pisac

We stop for lunch and then head for Ollantaytambo, about 40 miles from Cusco, roughly 9,000 feet above sea level.
  

Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of the Emperor Pachacutec in the 15^th century. He was responsible for the terraced mountainsides and construction that marked so much of the empire under his rule.

    
This area was also the last Inca battleground to fall to the Spanish. After the Spanish defeated Manco Inca Yupanqui, and his forces at the fortress Sacsayhuaman, he retreated to Ollantaytambo in 1536. It took a second round of Spanish soldiers to drive him from Ollantaytambo and ultimately defeat him in 1537.

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Next: Ollantaytambo

Weavers

The majestic Andean condors are behind us (literally) and now we’re keeping company the Santuario Cochahausi alpacas, 

parrots, 

  

and ahead of us are the weavers.  

  

When we visited the Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary, (Santuario Animal de Cochahuasi) we saw condors, alpacas, and parrots.  Moments after I photographed the condors, I took pictures of women from the Purikuq cooperative weavers, comprising artisans from three local communities. 

  

Weaving has long been a central part of life in Peru. Weaving cooperatives provide employment, supplemental income, and offer the chance for the artisans to create works representing their history and culture. 

  

The weavers use traditional backstrap looms—the oldest known loom in the world—made of wood, rope, and a strap that the wraps around the waist. Because it's so easy to carry, the weaver can set up anywhere. 

You can see the strap around the weaver's waist.

The loom's portability helps a woman manage the demands of motherhood while she creates her work. This weaver had her child with her.

Watching the detail of the artisan's work was hypnotic: I'm not sure how long I observed her but I know I have several close up photos of this woman's hands at work.

A note on the Purikuq weavers and this post:  When I write about a trip I took a while ago (this trip was some years back), I verify my information and update or add appropriate notes. 

  

The current sanctuary web site, http://www.santuariocochahuasi.com/about-us.html, has no reference to weavers. Santuario Cochahausi continues to protect and breed the Andean condor as well as pumas, parrots, llamas, alpacas, and vicunas (another relative of the alpaca). There are no references to weavers. The sanctuary seems to have expanded the animals it protects and narrowed its focus to animals. 

  

There are still many cooperatives supporting the employment and cultural work of the weavers. You can find  more information at these sites: https://threadsofperu.com/pages/meet-the-weavers-peru and https://planeterra.org/what-we-do/our-projects/womens-weaving-workshop/ .

One last alpaca before we make our way to Pisac and Ollantaytumbo. The baby was just too cute not to share.

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Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary

From the fortress of Sacsayhuaman we go to the Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary.  This family-run shelter strives to protect at-risk species and cares for animals that have been mistreated.

Within minutes of arriving we get to meet the very impressive endangered Andean Condor. Some farmers believe  that the condors prey on their livestock. In fact, condors eat carrion (although it is true they may go after weak or failing animals).  Artisans who like to use condor feathers in their works also pose a threat to these majestic birds.  Cochahuasi to the rescue.  The sanctuary protects and nurtures the birds, promotes reproduction, and then releases the condors into the wild.

Andean condor in flight

A few of the condors demonstrate their size, coming from a high perch to the ground where we are. The wing span can range from nine to ten and a half feet.  (Please note a guide told us the birds that respond on cue are rescued and accustomed to humans; they are unlikely to go back to the wild, but their offspring will.)

          

Seeing one next to a human gives you an idea of the bird's size.

           

As we walk the path from the condor flight demonstration, we see alpacas enjoying their morning graze. My notes say I also saw llamas, but I’m not so sure…

Alpaca

For one thing, alpaca fiber is a major source of yarn for the weavers of Peru.

                   

Alpacas have short straight ears and smaller face than llamas; they don’t weigh much over 200 pounds. Llamas’ ears are long, pointed, and slightly curved, and the adult llamas weigh as much as four hundred pounds.

I’m pretty sure these are alpacas.  None of them look like they approach the size of a grown 400-pound llama, and all of them have (very cute) faces that fit the alpaca description.

More about Peruvian weavers in the next post. 

Learn more about the sanctuary at  http://www.santuariocochahuasi.com/about-us.html

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The Fortress of Sacsayhuaman (continued)

This is the fortress that Inca leader Pachacutec began before his death n 1471, that his son, Tupac Inca Yupanqui completed.  We see walls over fifty feet high, made of stones that weigh from 130 to 200 tons.  I needed to remind myself that one hundred thirty tons is 260,000 pounds.  We still don't know how the Inca moved these massive stones.

Note the precise cut of these huge stones fitted closely together with no mortar to hold them.

Only one person at a time could pass through this doorway. 

The construction shows strategic planning. The huge stone walls are long. There is never more than one entry point or 'doorway' in any area of the fortress. And the doorways are always small--only one person could pass through at a time.  No groups of intruders or attackers could easily penetrate any part of Sacsayhuaman. 

The walls also have a slight inward tilt.  It's possible that this angle, combined with the meticulous cut of the stones, helped Sacsayhuaman survive earthquakes have rocked this area.

Not long after the Spanish conquest of the Inca, Manco, the puppet Inca ruler that Pizarro appointed, began his rebellion here. Ultimately Manco lost Sacsayhuaman to the Spanish and retreated to Ollantaytambo.  

Once the Spanish took over the fortress, they used it to protect Cusco and as a source for stone. The Spanish pillaged for supplies to use in new construction in Cusco.  What remains of Sacsayhuaman now is probably less than half of its original size. 

  

Sacsayhuaman - the Inca Fortress

All around Cusco, from almost every vantage point, we see the mountainous surroundings. 

Peru's 'Coat of Arms' in a mountain near Cusco

As we leave Cusco, we have a view of some interesting mountain art. (I don’t know how else to describe this.) There is a shield shape cut into the hillside, with the symbols that are Peru’s ‘coat of arms’.  In the upper left is the vicuna (a relative of the llama), Peru’s national animal; next to that is the cinchona tree, (the bark has many medicinal uses from helping with blood vessel problems to reducing bloating);  and in the center below those images is a cornucopia, symbolizing prosperity.

And we’re on our way to Sacsayhuaman on the raised north border of Cusco. The meaning of “Sacsayhuaman” has something to do with the noble hawk or eagle (I found both explanations). This was a fortress that provided storage for arms, food, and tools and also held sites for religious worship, including a temple dedicated to the sun god, Inti.  
  

Inca leader Pachacutec began the expansion of the Inca Empire during his reign from 1438 to 1471 CE. On the outskirts of Cusco, he started construction of Sacsayhuaman. His son, Tupac Inca Yupanqui, continued and expanded it, creating a fortress of massive stone. Thousands of laborers applied their stone-cutting and engineering skills to build what is probably the largest structure in the Inca empire. How they moved these massive blocks of stone, some over twelve feet tall, is still a mystery. 

Guide Rosa in front of a Sacsayhuaman wall 

With our guide, Rosa in the foreground, this picture gives you an idea of the size of some of the rocks used in the fortress construction.  As in earlier photos, you can also see the meticulous cut  edges of the stones leaving no space between them, assuring their stability.

Sacsayhuaman 'remains; view of Cusco 

The fortress was also a source for construction materials used by the conquering Spanish, leaving partial walls that you see in the photo above.

   

In an earlier post when I described Inca engineering feats, I mentioned the way they tamed mountains by 'terracing' the slopes/  Even in this massive fortress we see those terraces. Walls supporting the flat ‘steps’ are made of stone.  The surface is topsoil, and beneath that there is gravel that keeps water from flooding the surface. 

 

Cusco to Machu Picchu: the Tour Begins

We arrive in Cusco, at an altitude of 11,400 feet--about half a mile higher than Quito, where our Galapagos trip began. We have some time to acclimate and have lunch before our tour of the city begins.

Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, is the continent’s oldest continuously inhabited city, with a current population of about 350,000.  The streets are often steep and narrow. Our guide, Rosa, tells us we may occasionally hear a language we don’t know: not Spanish, but Quechua, the language of the Inca.

Busy Cusco

Rosa takes us to the Plaza de Armas in the area that was once the Great Inca Square, the focus of the city’s social life.  The Cathedral dominates the Plaza.

Much of the stone used to build the Cathedral, (constructed from 1539 to 1654) came from the nearby fortress of Sacsayhuaman.  The Cathedral and the other churches near the main square, including the Church of Triumph and the Church of the Society of Jesus, have Inca foundations.  The Spanish intention was to eliminate the Inca religion and establish a stronghold for the Spanish Catholics.  But evidence of the Inca culture remains.

Cathedral in Cusco

Cusco

"Buildover" : wall on the right is Inca construction

During Inca Pachacutec’s reign from 1438 to 1471, he built the Coricancha dedicated to Inti, the Sun God. Gold covered most of the surfaces of the Coricancha, and gold statues adorned the temple. This is the same gold that Inca Atahualpa used to try to ransom himself from Pizarro.

Gold from the Coricancha

The Spanish built the Church of Santo Domingo where the Coricancha had been, but evidence of Inca remains, their stone walls incorporated into the Spanish construction.  Earthquakes have periodically damaged Spanish construction, but the Inca walls have endured.  Inca stone walls are often part of colonial and even some modern building foundations.   

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Next: Sacsayhuaman - the Inca Fortress

Inca Engineering

The Spanish arrival began the decline of the Inca Empire but it could not wipe out  Inca engineering feats. These significant accomplishments still impress. 

The Inca managed these achievements without iron works, without written language, and (because of the mountainous, irregular terrain) often without the use of wheels. After almost five hundred years, many Inca works remain;  the construction of those who followed has often succumbed to time, elements, and seismic shifts.

The Inca built as much as 25,000 miles of trails, with the main roads leading out of Cusco in four directions. People still hike the Inca trail that leads to Machu Picchu (I took a train). 

They built walls of scrupulously cut, massive stone blocks fitted so precisely that nothing was required to hold them together.  There is no sign of space between the stones, and many of those walls still stand. The Spanish often built over the sturdy Inca walls, and the 'buildovers' didn't always endure.

Remnants of Inca walls, now part of Spanish buildings like those in the Plaza de Armas

Newer construction built around  meticulous Inca stone walls

In one of the most mountainous areas of the world, the Inca created terraces for farming, turning steep slopes into a series of flat step-like surfaces. They developed irrigation systems, using gravel layers under the terrace tops. The crushed rock enables excess water to drain away from crops while assuring water for human consumption. And the stones that support the flat steps retain the heat of the day, providing thermal protection for crops in the cool night air.

Inca terraces supported by gravel at Sacsayhuaman 

Pisac terraces

I saw the evidence of Inca engineering skill in the tour that took me to Machu Picchu.  Only in hindsight, when I was preparing to write about it, did I begin to fully appreciate the Inca Empire's accomplishments and their endurance.

I live in the Boston area.  Here we often joke that we have two seasons: winter and pot-hole repair.  Yet almost five hundred years after the Inca built them, the trail to Machu Picchu is still available to travelers; Inca stone walls support newer construction; the mountainside terraces still stand.

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Next: The Tour Begins

Spanish Conquest of the Inca

The Inca empire continued to grow after Pachacutech's death in 1471, under the leadership of his son Tupac Inca Yupanqui.  Huayna Capac followed him in 1493. While able to maintain the kingdom, he was not able to expand it. He was also unable to pass the empire on in peace.  

After Huayna Capac’s death in 1527, his sons Huascar and Atahualpa split the empire and fought each other for total control.  The former ruled Cusco, and with Cusco came the loyalty of many people. But they were not great warriors.

Atahualpa’s domain, near the city that is now Quito in Ecuador, had followers with significant battle experience. With that came victory for Atahualpa. In 1532. Huáscar and his Cusco domain fell to his brother.  

But Atahualpa’s victory was short-lived. The Europeans had discovered the ‘New World’, bringing smallpox, the common cold and superior fighting skills and weaponry.  Inca slingshots, and arrows were of little use against Pizarro's Spanish warriors in armor. The division between the two Inca brothers was an added advantage that Pizarro could exploit.

Atahualpa, hoping to save his nation, arranged to meet Pizarro in 1532.  The Inca emperor anticipated a meeting, not a battle: he took only a portion of his thousands of warriors with him, and they arrived unarmed.   

Pizarro, however, had planned a battle.  His armed conquistadors killed the unarmed Inca warriors, Pizarro took Atahualpa captive, and the Spanish troops continued toward Cusco. 

Atahualpa’s feared that his just-defeated brother in Cusco might form an alliance with the Spanish, so from captivity, he was able to order Huascar’s assassination. Then the prisoner-king offered to pay Pizarro for his freedom with the gold and silver from Cusco’s ‘Gold Courtyard’ --the Coricancha.  Pizarro chose to take the ransom and kill the captive in 1533. 

Pizarro then appointed Manco Inca to serve as his puppet ruler.  Manco was not a very good puppet. He had supported Huascar in opposing Atahualpa, and he quickly became disenchanted with Spanish rule. In 1536, Manco organized an attack on the Spanish in Cusco. Initially he fought from the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, but the Spanish captured it. Manco retreated to Ollantaytambo, and then into the jungle.   

Capturing Sacsayhuaman enabled the Spanish to retain control of Cusco. Manco continued his attempts to drive out the Spanish and regain the empire, but ultimately was killed in 1544. The Spanish domination expanded, bringing an end to the Inca Empire.

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Next: Inca Engineering