Sacred Valley on the approach to Ollantaytambo.
"In this place they had the Inca a big force of the strongest of all their dominion, seated among some rocks that few people were enough to defend of much. Among these rocks they were some sliced rocks that made unassailable the place: and for the low thing it is full with big platforms that seem walls, some above others: in the width of which sowed the seeds that they ate."
Quote by Cieza of León, columnist Spanish XVI century. (from the official Ollantaytambo website)
Ollantaytambo is a little, very touristy town located at the western end of the Sacred Valley (about two and a half hours by bus from Cusco).
Surrounding landscapes..
The town has been built on top of original Inca foundations and is the best surviving example of Inca town planning (check out the satellite photos to better appreciate the layout). It is divided in “canchas” (blocks) which are almost entirely intact. Each block has only one entrance (usually a huge stone doorway) which leads into a central courtyard. The houses surround the courtyard. Good examples of this construction can be found behind the main plaza.
The town is located at the foot of some spectacular Inca ruins which protected the strategic entrance to the lower Urubamba Valley. The temple area is at the top of steep terracing which helped provide excellent defenses. Stone used for these buildings was brought from a quarry high up on the opposite side of the Urubamba river - an incredible feat that must have demanded the efforts of thousands of workers.
...breathtaking
The complex was still under construction at the time of the conquest and was never completed. Giant stone pillars lay abandoned at the top of the ruins since the conquest.
According to the linguist Rodolfo Cerrón Palomino, the name Ollantay comes from the aimara ulla-nta-wi that he/she means "place to see down", that is to say, watchtower. The one added of tambo and their linking with the character of the literature are later. The testimonies of indigenous villagers, show that deep hostilities existed against the Inca, even in the near tribes to the city of Cusco. Their informants counted that Pachacútec demanded to their ancestros the payment of tributes. In reprisal for the negative to obey the real orders, a powerful army attacked and it destroyed the town. Then Pachacútec claimed the area like own and it sent to build the magnificent buildings that today lasts.
The Sun Temple located on top of the ruins, close to a mysterious pre-Inca megalithic stone wall, was constructed with huge pink granite boulders.
Statue of the Inca at the main square of Ollantaytambo.
The stone quarry is named Kachiqhata (Salt Slope) and is located about 4 km (2.5 miles) away on the other side of the valley, by the upper side of the opposite south-western mountains. The boulders were carved partially in the quarries, and taken down to the valley's bottom. In order to cross the river Quechuas constructed an artificial channel parallel to the natural river bed that served for deviating the river's water according to conveniences. Therefore, while that water flowed through one channel the other was dry, thus stones could be taken to the other side of the valley.
More over, the boulders were transported to the upper spot where the temple is erected using the inclined plane that is something like a road which silhouette is clearly seen from the valley's bottom. They had the help of log rollers or rolling stones as wheels, South-American cameloids' leather ropes, levers, pulleys, and the power of hundreds and even thousands of men.
Picturesque locations.
Today, on the way from the quarry to the temple there are dozens of enormous stones that people know as " tired stones" because it is believed that they could never be transported to their destination; those stones are the reason why some authors claim that the Sun Temple was unfinished when the Spanish invasion happened. (From www.world-mysteries.com)
After Manco Inca was defeated by the Spanish at Sacsayhuaman following the unsuccessful siege of Cusco (1536) he retreated to Ollantaytambo. Francisco Pizarro's younger brother Hernando led a force of 70 cavalry, 30 foot soldiers and a large contingent of natives to capture Manco Inca. The Inca's forces, joined by neighboring jungle tribes, rained down showers of arrows, spears and rocks upon the unfortunate Spanish troops.
Souvenirs are all over the place. The historical site is in the background.
In an intelligent move the Inca's flooded the plains below their stronghold making it difficult for the horses to maneuver. Hernando, uncharacteristically, ordered a hasty retreat and so, Ollantaytambo became the only place ever to have resisted attacks from the Spanish. However, the victory was short-lived because the Spanish returned with four times their previous force. Manco Inca retreated to his jungle stronghold in Vilcabamba and Ollantaytambo fell into the hands of the Spanish.
Now, Ollantaytambo is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the sacred valley and is part of the obligatory circuit followed by pretty much all visitors to Cuzco. The place is simply incredible because of its scale and location and it is hard to imagine the effort that must have been required to build such a structure. Don’t even think about missing it!
