the sacred valley of the incas

A visit to the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba just has to include a number of places mentioned here in no particular order: Ollantaytambo with its Inca fortress built for defense against the invading Chankas and its living Inca village. If you have time climb up to Willoc, a small hamlet of weavers, to see the ancestral textile tradition of the area. Pisac, for a walk to see its archaeological ruins, as well as to go to the handicrafts market for which this village is famous. Not forgetting Maras and Moray. The soils of Maras are rich in salt and the community has made a living since time immemorial extracting it from the white slopes and terraces.

Moray was a sort of laboratory used by the Incas for research into different crops grown on circular terraces corresponding to different ecological floors.