• Demonstrating the natural dyes

  • Women selling alpaca products in the square at Chinchero

  • Balls of alpaca wool and the fine weaving

  • Demonstrating the weaving

  • The amazing colours from natural dyes

  • Showing the different textures between sheep wool, alpaca, and baby alpaca

  • A demonstration of washing and then dying alpaca wool using plant and insect dyes

  • Pets or dinner...?

  • A quick stop to have a glass of Chicha

  • Looking up the terraces at Ollantaytambo

  • Some of the amazing carvings on the huge blocks of stone above the terraces at Ollantaytambo

  • Wiracocha's or Tunupa's image in stone on the mountain Pinkuylluna overlooking Ollantaytambo. Wiracochan was the messenger of Viracocha the creater god of pre-Incan and Incan mythology.

  • Looking down the terraces at Ollantaytambo

  • Ruins at Pisac

  • Inca terraces at Pisac

  • A view from Pisac.

  • A view down the Sacred Valley with the Urubamba River running through it.

The Sacred Valley

One of the almost obligatory trips to take when in the Cusco area is to the Sacred Valley. That is, to the villages of Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and then up to Chinchero, with a lunch stop at Urubamba.

There are (literally) thousands of tour providers in Cusco offering daily trips to all the popular areas. We chose one based on nothing more than they had a green sign. It doesn’t seem to actually matter who you go with, as most of them are agents for a mere few hundred tour operators and guides. No doubt we all paid a different amount, but I wasn’t about to ask just in case we found out we had paid the most. 😳

The tour started a little disappointingly – we stopped after just 15 minutes at an artisan market. I really didn’t expect a ‘shopping opportunity’ quite so early on. We resisted. However, the tour got better and better as the day went on. Our guide, Washington, provided great entertainment throughout the day.

The Sacred Valley takes you in to the land of the Quechua and there is a blend of Inca and Spanish influences.

A view down the Sacred Valley with the Urubamba River running through it.
A view down the Sacred Valley with the Urubamba River running through it.

Pisac

Our first proper stop was at Pisac. The Inca site sits above the village. It was our fist view of the famous Inca terraces.

A view from Pisac.
A view from Pisac.
Inca terraces at Pisac
Inca terraces at Pisac
Ruins at Pisac
Ruins at Pisac

Ollantaytambo

After a short break in Urubamba we made our way to Ollantaytambo.
This was quite an amazing place and I would have liked to stay here a bit longer to explore. Climbing up the terraces was hard work, as we were still getting used to the altitude.

Looking down the terraces at Ollantaytambo
Looking down the terraces at Ollantaytambo
Wiracocha's or Tunupa's image in stone on the mountain Pinkuylluna overlooking Ollantaytambo. Wiracochan was the messenger of Viracocha the creater god of pre-Incan and Incan mythology.
Wiracocha’s or Tunupa’s image in stone on the mountain Pinkuylluna overlooking Ollantaytambo. Wiracochan was the messenger of Viracocha the creater god of pre-Incan and Incan mythology.
Some of the amazing carvings on the huge blocks of stone above the terraces at Ollantaytambo
Some of the amazing carvings on the huge blocks of stone above the terraces at Ollantaytambo
Looking up the terraces at Ollantaytambo
Looking up the terraces at Ollantaytambo

After Ollantaytambo we stopped at a small house selling Chicha. This is a fermented dink made from maize. I’d tried some in Trujillo which wasn’t too bad. This one wasn’t too great. It was interesting to see a traditional Quechua home with guinea pigs running around.

A quick stop to have a glass of Chicha
A quick stop to have a glass of Chicha
Pets or dinner...?
Pets or dinner…?

Chinchero

Our final stop was at Chinchero where we saw a demonstration of how alpaca wool is washed and dyed. The colours are amazing.
Cochineal makes the most beautiful red. Yellow was made form Qolle flowers (I thought she said cauliflower until I googled it!). Green was made from Ch’illca. Blue was made from a bean pod called Tara. Orange from a bark, Yanali. Purple from purple maize.

Demonstrating the natural dyes
Demonstrating the natural dyes
A demonstration of washing and then dying alpaca wool using plant and insect  dyes
A demonstration of washing and then dying alpaca wool using plant and insect dyes
Showing the different textures between sheep wool, alpaca, and baby alpaca
Showing the different textures between sheep wool, alpaca, and baby alpaca
The amazing colours from natural dyes
The amazing colours from natural dyes

The fine weaves represent animals, birds, water, sun. It takes about a month to weave a table runner, so all the tourists looking for bargains in the markets need to be aware that the cheap weaves may not be authentic, and I’ve heard could in fact be made of acrylic.

Demonstrating the weaving
Demonstrating the weaving
Balls of alpaca wool and the fine weaving
Balls of alpaca wool and the fine weaving

After the demosntration we visited the church, which was built on top of an Inca temple. The two cultures have merged to produce some interesting art – unfortunately no photos are allowed inside the church.

Women selling alpaca products in the square at Chinchero
Women selling alpaca products in the square at Chinchero

We returned back to a busy Cusco as night fell. It was an excellent day.

Series - Cusco

  1. The Sacred Valley
  2. Mountain Biking – Moray and Maras
  3. Salkantay to Aguas Calientes – Solpayki
  4. Machu Picchu

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