day 3: Sacred Valley
Visit of the Inca site of Pisac.
Located on a crest which overhangs the valley of Urubamba, this fortress made it possible to control the comings and goings on the right bank of the Vilcanota river.
The Incas had installed there an administrative center of important size, which governed all the province. This one is composed of a solar observatory or Intihuatana, a sacred zone dedicated to the cults of the Andean deities, an agricultural space made up of terraces as well as an area reserved for the residences of the inhabitants.
Continuation towards the village of Pisac.
A free time at the handicraft market will allow you to discover all the Andean handicrafts: ponchos, alpaca and sheep textiles, jewelry, antiques, paintings and many other quality items.
You will continue the discovery of the sacred valley of the Incas with the visit of the saltworks of Maras, fabulous contrast in the heart of the valley.
The saltworks are made up of more than three hundred terraces on the mountainside; the salt is extracted there thanks to a supply of salt water from the basins, where the water evaporates and leaves a thin layer of solidified salt, hardened by the sun.
Visit the fortress of Ollantaytambo.
The strategic geographical location of this last Inca stronghold allowed them to resist the Spaniards; the remains of the fortress bear witness to the confrontations that took place following the loss of Cusco at the hands of the conquistadors.
Lunch and Dinner at leisure in the Sacred Valley.
Night in the Sacred Valley.
Steps:
Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu PicchuOllantaytambo – Archaeological siteOllantaytambo – VillagePisac; archaeological sitePisac Market
