At first I was a bit confused about what this valley all entailed. I thought it was just one specific valley but actually, it's all the valleys that were once a part of the Inca Empire. These Inca sites and valleys that we visited had agricultural terraces sometimes called "andenes". These terraces were built for the production of surplus foods that were eventually shipped from the mountain areas to the center of the empire - Cusco. Although the Incas adopted the idea of using terraces, they incorporated intense irrigation systems in order to mass produce crops for an entire empire of people.
Andenes
This terrace is so well thought out, I couldn't even believe what our tour guide was saying. The actual terrace is comprised of stones as the base layer, then sand, and eventually soil on top. The rocks that serve as a holding wall are also used as a heat source because of how cold it gets here during the night (think lows... 32 degrees and highs...75 degrees). The crops needed to stay warm, like they did during the day, in order to have any agricultural success. The "flying steps" serve as a stair step for the irrigation system. While building these massive terraces, workers would move soil from the lower area of the valley to the higher parts of the mountain for the terrace - this way the soil was better adapted for farming purposes.
Superrrrr well thought out - crazy, I know. More info if you're interested...
Písac
This was our first stop of the day and it was so amazingly gorgeous! The coolest part about these areas is of course the agricultural terracing - but there were also ruins on the site (housing from Inca times). The valley below is called Urubamba. From the top of the housing area you can see the valley below - giving just a little idea of what it was like to live in this area during the time of the empire.
Foods gathered from the agricultural terraces were taken by foot to Cusco (to feed the royal family and the military that was living in the city); there had been some 27,000 miles of footpaths, created during the Inca empire, through the mountains in order to get to the heart of Cusco. These footpaths were also used by "Chasquis" (aka Runners) that would send messages from different areas of the empire - sometimes running hundreds of miles every day.
*Picture of the entire Písac Valley*
*Agricultural Terracing*
*Pinch me, I must be dreaming...*
Ollantaytambo
If you have a chance, I highly recommending reading the link - there is a lot of architectural information that the Inca's used that I won't be able to touch on. One thing I want to mention about Ollantaytambo (say that one 5 times fast) is the incredible determination of this once incredible empire. All day I kept wondering - how did the emperor convince 300 people to move a 12 ton boulder for an entire day...I mean this type of work in the US is almost unfathomable. We're such a "complete the project so I can see the result" type of culture...but these ruins took many generations to complete - it was a family project. One generation would build the foundation (having hundreds of workers laying the foundation for a product they would never see) and the next generations would continue to build - a very slow yet very incredible process. Terrible earthquakes have barely damaged these sites - I simply cannot believe how durable and long lasting (and might I add how genius) the construction of these sites are.
*If you look square center of the picture and then move to the right, there is a golden colored object on the side of the mountain - that is the qollqa I explain in the latter portion of this section*
*Town overview of Ollantaytambo from the agricultural terraces on the mountain*
*Adventure hike to a more secluded, non-touristy area that was just spectacular*
Enough ranting about the incredible minds of the Incas...now onto "Qollqas" which is the Quechua (native language spoken throughout Peru - quickly becoming less and less popular; many words are still used throughout Cusco in place of Spanish words though) word for storehouses. Because of the location in Ollantaytambo, the hills receive a lot of wind and low temperatures - these storehouses included a type of ventilation system that was perfect for preserving the food that was grown on the agricultural terraces (incredible...I know!) in order to eventually feed the people of the empire - especially the royal family housed in Cusco.
*Example qollqa on hillside of Ollantaytambo*
What Lauren has to say about it...
I think the biggest thing I have learned on this trip is the idea of a world where you focus on others more than yourself. In the US we are so day-to-day, minute-to-minute, need-to-do-this-now type people. I myself am very independent and struggle with focusing on other people's needs - it seems silly to say but I feel like this might just be the case in the US; it is so much easier here to take a step back and think about everything that we take for granted. We don't always need to see the final project (I struggle a lot with this idea and teaching...you have a student for a year and then they're off to the next grade), so why do we make it our number one priority? There are things in life - much like the agricultural terraces have taught me - that you can't rush. You can't rush life, waiting for the weekend because pretty soon you'll be 70 asking where the time went. It's okay to not fulfill all of your dreams, but it's also not okay to say "I won't complete them, so why start".
I challenge you after reading this blog to take a step back and think like the Inca's would have - just for one day! Think about the necessity of your actions in the present in order to build a future for not just you, but the people around you. For those of you with kids and families - what are you doing now to build that strong foundation for your kids and their future families?
Sorry for getting all deep but this place makes you think about how small you are in the world but also how big of an impact just a few people can have on an entire history or empire worth of people.
*En el futuro* (aka In the future) Next weekend we are headed to Machu Picchu!!!!! Plenty of pictures and stories to come.
*Ahora* (aka Now) Watch this video I put together of our trip to Valle Sagrado :) If you're brave, leave a comment on this blog post and let me know how you're enjoying this virtual ride-along of my Peruvian/Cusqueñian adventures!
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