Ollantaytambo The living Inca City.
A magical Inca town that continues to be inhabited in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Its stone streets preserve the Inca architecture combined with temples and colonial squares.
Here you will also find the Archaeological Complex of Ollantaytambo, located in the district of the same name, in the province of Urubamba, 80 kilometers from the city of Cusco. It is reached by the Chinchero-Urubamba highway or by Pisac-Urubamba. The town is located at 2700 m.s.n.m.
Although Pachacútec was in charge of taking Ollantaytambo to its maximum splendor, the constructions date back long before the time of the Incas. In the city and its surroundings, indications of settlements of the Huari civilization (AD 600 – 1000) were found, as is the example of the Pumamarca fortress, a citadel of a military nature that controlled access to Ollantaytambo. This fortress could be reached by the well-known Inca Trail.
Other versions state that the town is as old as 3,500 years.
It could be said that a lot has been built on top of the place, including the Incas, and that in turn an existing city has been extended.
TRACTIVES
Groups of Platforms
From several kilometers before Ollantaytambo, at the height of the town of Pachar, on both sides of the valley on the slopes of the slopes, we find a group of parallel terraces between them, with formidable walls inclined towards the hill with steps that come out embedded in the walls.
The Forts of Choqana and inkapintay
Choqana is a Quechua word, it indicates where it is knocked down or thrown. It corresponds to a pucara or barracks, located two kilometers before Ollantaytambo (going to Cusco), on the left side of the Urubamba river. It was a place of administrative control, signal station, communication and fort; It has a supply of water, food deposits and many enclosures arranged for surveillance.
The Plaza MañayRaqay also called K’uychipunku
Mañay means order and Raqay means shed; It is interpreted as the Plaza de las Petitions. The Plaza de Ollantaytamboy had this name and it maintains it until today; This square is located on the right bank of the Patakancha stream, rectangular in shape, the limiting walls have many doorways.
The Royal House of the Sun
The Royal House of the Sun or fortress, and Ollantaytambo in its entirety, still preserves the layout of the urban planning of the Incas. It is made up of 17 superimposed terraces, a succession of straight and wide platforms oriented towards the side of the square and the town; the upper group of terraces runs transversally with respect to the previous group and at a higher altitude.
The Enclosure of the ten Niches and the Monumental Portal
It is the last platform of the Upper Group of Platforms of La Real casa del Sol, the entire wall is made up of two stone canvases, which form a kind of room. This enclosure is incomplete today, the outer wall and the wall that contained the entrance door were demolished, the foundations still remain and it can be seen that the cupboards were inwards and not out in the open like today.
The temple of the Sun
It is an impressive architectural complex almost completely destroyed, the immovable pieces that make up a stone canvas remain, which due to its solidity, volume and the way it was assembled, resisted the onslaught of the extirpaters of idolatry and also repelled the looters of treasures. It is thought that the entire complex formed the Temple of the Sun, of which only the western wall has remained, made up of 6 red porphyry stones and between them, slats that fit with incredible accuracy.
The Bath of the Ñust’a
It is a beautiful fountain with a triple bedel in parallel and broken lines, sculpted on the front face; The Incas built groups of liturgical sources in every urban center.
FAST FACTS:
Elevation: 2700 meters above sea level.
Duration: 1:30-2 hours trip.
Distance: 80 km from Cusco.