Ollantaytambo

Pachacutec conquered and rebuilt Ollantaytambo to serve as a home for nobility.  

  
In the time of the Inca empire, this city controlled the roads leading to and from the jungle. We walk through a 'residential' area of Ollantaytambo, heading to the hillsides. Many of the people we see are in colorful Inca attire. I couldn’t resist this adorable lamb...keeping his owner company. Behind her, you can see the  mountainside, sculpted to create levels for farming.

We make our way to the hillside. Once again we see the hallmark terraces that are the product of Inca engineering, making the land suitable for cultivation, making treacherously steep mountains navigable, and helping manage the flow of water.

In Ollantaytambo, the plateau walls are a little higher than the terraces of other Inca farm areas, and the stones cut with greater precision to fit more closely together. This was, after all, the home to the emperor.

The structure and rock assemblies in the mountainsides also helped defend the community. In the photo below you see Linda and our guide, Rosa in a rocky area that was designed for protection from intruders, not for farming.

The people, the city, and the engineering continue to impress me, although I am no longer stunned by the ingenuity or creativity  

  

Then we see this:

I'm back to being stunned.

  

That is the face of Viracocha, carved into the mountain overlooking Ollantaytambo. He was the Inca's chief god, who created all the other Inca deities and all living things.*  The head, over 440 high, is protecting a grain storage structure.

Grain storage

Another example of Inca engineering. The Pinkuylluna grain storehouse above was most likely the work of Pachacutec.  Built high into the mountain, the storage not only helped preserve the grain and also protect it in case of attack.  

* I’ve also found the name Tunupa linked to the carving; some sources say that’s just an alternate name for Viracocha, some say Tunupa was another Inca god.  

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