Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley of the Incas)

These are terraces

This is the Irrigation system

Yesterday, we arrived in the city of Ollantaytambo in Peru, it is in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This area is also where Machu Picchu is located. This valley is called the Sacred Valley because of the past and present heart of the Incan empire for agriculture. Some examples of agriculture they have here are the terraces. A terrace is what looks like big steps usually built on the sides of mountains or hills. They made walls at the front of the steps made out of big carved puzzle perfect rocks to prevent soil erosion. They also used this area since the soil was very fertile. 

The Incas used this land (that was unusable) and created microclimates to grow agricultural produce like different plants, fruits, and vegetables. One of their main crops is potatoes. Fun fact, there are more than 1,300 types of potatoes that local farmers currently grow. Other things they grow include maize, quinoa, and coca leaves. They used these agricultural products to feed their very large Incan population.

The Incas were so smart in engineering that they created a hydraulic system to capture the mountain runoff.  This prevented water logging by using drainage layers like gravel, sand, and topsoil, so the water could be easily distributed through irrigation systems that are still used by locals today. 

The Sacred Valley has very well preserved Incan homes made out of stones. The Incas valued this place for a strategic location because they were protected by the Andes Mountains, and they also had multiple rivers where they figured out how to harvest the water. What I also noticed was the city preserving these stone walls and working with the ancient buildings instead of removing them, which I respect. 

While we were there in Ollantaytambo we went to see the Incan village called Pumamarca. This place was pretty well preserved with the rock walls still intact. From here we hiked down through the mountains along the Incan trail back to Ollantaytambo, which was really cool. It took about 3 hours before we reached the town.