Sacred Valley – always finding something wondrous

In my last blog, I described my beautiful day in Pisac, which many visitors unfortunately miss. There are other incredible places to visit in the Sacred Valley that are also often overlooked, or not fully experienced (as I learned at Moray). I know that most people do not have the luxury of slow travel and others are not comfortable travelling on their own or ‘off the beaten path” but hopefully I can encourage a few people to venture out of their comfort zone a little. I decided to visit Urubamba because I had met a local guide through an expat group on Facebook. His photos of the Valley were so appealing…well, I decided I needed to visit and soak up some of that beauty. There are many tours leaving from Cusco that will take you to Pisac, Urubamba, Moray and Ollantaytambo all in one day but unfortunately you spend more time in a tourist bus than actually exploring the towns and the ruins. I decided to have another colectivo experience and spend a couple of days in the Valley with Urubamba as my home base.

I want to say that the Sacred Valley, or El Valle Sagrado, is so incredibly beautiful. The views are so vast, the hills and mountains are so green and the sky is the truest, purest blue that it does not look real. Even if I hadn’t visited any of the other incredible places, the ride from Cusco to Urubamba was a joy in and of itself. You know that ridiculous “sky blue” in the Crayola box that kids always use to color the sky, but in reality is not close to most skies – well whoever made that sky blue crayon had obviously visited the Sacred Valley and wished for all skies to be as perfectly blue as the Sacred Valley skies. The views on the drive there took my breath away. And to be fully transparent, the colectivo was equally crowded, a little smelly and a lot more disregarding of reasonable speeds. In fact, we passed a police car on the shoulder of the road, a first for me – but still it did not distract from that unbelievably “does not look real” Sacred Valley sky.

My first full day in the Valley was spent in the Ollantaytambo area, visiting the village itself, the archaeological ruins, the Templo del Sol, and the obscure Qelloraqay ruins. I mentioned connecting with a local guide through an expat group on Facebook. If you are visiting a new place on your own, I highly recommend joining a couple of FB groups linked to the area. They are a wealth of information and can connect you with locals, expats and other travelers. And often the local guides that are not found on the big travel sites or ones that work independently are more budget-friendly, more knowledgeable, and most importantly willing to adapt itineraries to the individual. I love all of the history talk. I love meeting local people. I love walking off the recommended path to see that something special. And I really love being able to sit in the middle of an ancient ruin for as long as I like because I am not on a group schedule. So for me, exploring Ollantaytambo, the Templo del Sol and especially the ruins at Qelloraqay with Boznia was wonderful as we took most of the day and I was able to learn so much. The ruins at Ollantaytambo were home to Inca nobility – it was one of the settlements conquered by Pachacutec but the buildings in Ollantaytambo date back to the Huari civilization (600-1000AD) and possibly earlier. The fortress at Ollantaytambo served as a stronghold during the Spanish conquest and was believed to have deterred the Spanish from discovering Machu Picchu. We also visited the Qelloraqay archaeological site, which is not part of any group tours and magically we were the only ones there. The Qelloraqay ruins are believed to have been a “women-only” area, where they dyed the fabrics for their clothes. Aside from the amazing buildings still standing, we were so close to the Urubamba River, as well as fields and fields of corn and so much quiet, that it seemed like travelling back in time. It was truly memorable.

Moray itself is magnificent and it is really difficult to capture the size and power of the place in photographs or words. The archaeological site of Moray consists of 4 enormous terraced depressions – circle within circle, going deeper and deeper – understood to be the first agricultural experiment. The ancient Incan “agricultural laboratory” was used to cultivate and experiment with various crops, as each level served as a micro-climate. The largest of the laboratories has 12 levels, with the largest depression having an incredible diameter of 183 meters! And from the highest terrace to the lowest, the descent is close to 150 meters, making the Moray ruins one of the most fascinating sites in history, I think. When I was standing at the edge of the largest one, I was overcome with awe, bordering on disbelief, at the precision of the circles and the intelligence of the Incan people. There are actually 4 of these incredible circular agricultural “labs” and the beauty of exploring with a local and not having a schedule is that we were able to hike to the fourth one, which is both a bit of a hike and completely hidden when standing at the entrance or the main overlook. At the fourth circle, Boznia and I were the only ones there. And lucky me, I was able to do an “Indiana Jones” and carefully climb down the stone stairs jutting out sideways from the ground and sit down right in the middle of the giant circle. It was really, really magical. And this may be “woo-woo’ for some but honestly I could feel the weight of the air on my skin, I could hear the grass whisper and it seemed like time stood still. It was truly an afternoon I will never forget and a gift I would not have received if I was with a tour group.

One of the other highlights of the day was stopping to see a friend of Boznia’s. Yolanda has a little shop in the middle of “nowhere” with the most spectacular view. She was incredibly gracious and showed me how she prepared ‘Chica de Jora’ (or ajha in Quechua, the native Incan language), a beer made by fermenting ground corn in large earthenware vats for several days. I especially liked the one with fresh strawberries mixed in but both were delicious and I do not normally like beer. I also got to meet her sweet daughter and their week-old puppies, as well as their 2 alpacas and many guinea pigs. Yolanda also sells handmade products made from salts, mined in the Maras Salt Mines by local families. I normally do not buy souvenirs (when you are always travelling with no home base, the weight of and space in your suitcase is finite) but it felt very special to “buy local” and support this sweet Andean mom. These are the types of wonderfully wholesome experiences that you are blessed with when you explore with a local. Honestly, the only downside of the entire day was at the start of our visit at Moray. I heard a tour guide say to a woman “No, you cannot go down there, we don’t have time. You have 10 minutes to take pictures and use the bathroom and then back on the bus.” And I still feel so very sad for that stranger who never got to really experience the magic of Moray.

I really am so blessed to live such a privileged and beautiful life – as I write this, there is a horrific genocide happening on the other side of the world and in the country that I am visiting, indigenous peoples are being displaced at an alarming rate. I really struggle to understand how and why some of us are blessed when others are fighting for their right to exist. But if you are one of the blessed people who can travel, please open yourself up to new experiences, step outside your comfort zone, support small local guides, restaurants and hotels (please really consider where your travel dollar is going) and talk to local people. And then once you do all of that, step off the beaten track and I promise you it will fill you with wonder.

Also, if you are planning a trip to the Sacred Valley, look up my friend Boznia Liendo at https://www.instagram.com/boznia.liendo/

And if you want a great and affordable place to stay in the middle of the Sacred Valley, please consider El Sol Hotel at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092750203644

And if you are in Urubamba and want a great cappuccino, excellent croissants and a fantastic 80s playlist, check out https://www.instagram.com/urubambahermanoscafe/

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