ollantaytambo

Say what?!

Ollantaytambo was one of the coolest Inca sites we saw on our Sacred Valley tour. I felt that it deserved its own post.

ollantaytambo - oh-lee-awn-tay-tom-bo

The terraces. You can see the people standing on them to show you how tall they are.

The guy in the hat was our guide. 

Residential houses at the bottom, with the protective mountain in the distance.

On the bottom right side of the mountain, you can see more structures. These were militia type forts that allowed for the military to keep guard at Ollantaytambo. They were up high, and only needed to watch 3 directions since those were the only ways to reach the town. 

This yellow rectangle was interesting because it seemed so out of place. This is a storage facility built by the Inca. After each harvest, they would take some to put away for drying in the event that there are no rains and the harvest isn't plentiful. The higher up they go, the drier the air. This allowed for storage of herbs, corn, quinoa, and other various items grown in the terraces. 

It is hard to see, but this is the temple of the sun at Ollantaytambo.

Natural rock formation on the mountain - doesn't it look like an Inca warrior? The Inca thought so. 

View of the valley behind Ollantaytambo from the temple of the sun

As far as the Inca are concerned, building up is preferable. 

This is the private princess bath. It really wasn't that private though, there are windows on all sides. This was used for noble families.