SACRED VALLEY OF THE INKAS

URUBAMBA:
in the heart of the sacred valley, urubamba is 78 km of cusco on the road to pisac ( one hour 25 minutes by car) or 57 km (45 minutes by car) from cusco on the chinchero road.
village of chinchero:
the outstanding colonial church contains some beautiful oils from the cusco school, on sundays there is a fair at which trader and country folk buy, barter. there are some important archeological remains in the area ( location: 25 km north east of cusco or 45 minutes by car).

VILLAGE OF YUCAY:

according to legend, yucay was the personal property of Inca Huayna Capac. the palace of Inca sSayri Tupac can be seen here. (location: 68 km, north of the city of cusco or one hour 30 minutes by car).

MARAS SALT PANS:

salt has been mined here since the early days of tahuantinsuyo. the sigth of the approximately three thousand salt pans is impressive. local people will show visitors their ancient techniques and allow them to help with collecting the salt.
(lacation: 10 km from the village of maras, 30 minutes by car or two hours on foot).

RUINS AT MORAY:
This complex consists of four slightly elliptical galleries called "muyus" by local people. this site is thought to have been an important center for agricultural experimentation during the inca empire. the use of concentric terraces and the fact that the temperature is diferent at each level may have enabled all the ecological floors found in the empire of tahuantinsuyo to be reproduced here.(location: nine km. north east of the town of maras or 25 minutes by car).OLLANTAYTAMBO:
Located 97 km north east of cusco ( two hours and 30 minutes by car). it was built by the incas as a fortified town containing a temple and terraces fields. it is divided into two sectors: one called " araqama ayllu", dedicated to religion; and another called "qosqo ayllu", where people lived. ollantaytambo was an important administrative center which probably also had a military function, as shown by its walls and towers. traces of ancient roads and aqueducts can also still be seen. the village of ollantaytambo is known as the "living inca village" as its people maintain ancient customs and practises.

CUSCO SHOPPING:

If what are you looking for is a few souvenirs to remind you of your visit to the ancient capital of the incas, cusco provides an infinity of alternatives at every turn. there are objects of all sizes, made from every type of material and at prices to suita ll pockets. handicrafts complexes can be found all over the city and street vendors are everywhere. however the sunday fairs at pisac and chinchero take you beyond the simple pleasures of shopping.

MACHUPICCHU HISTORIC SANCTUARY:

Machupicchu is an impressive inca sanctuary built in to the side of a mountain. its name means "old mountain". it has also been called " the los city of the incas" as it was unknown to the rest of the world until hiram bingham rediscovered it in 1911. the citadel was built in the 15th century and is attributed to inka pachacutec.
the site is divided into sectors covering approximately 20 hectares. the agricultural sector consist of terraces cut into the mountain side, up to four metres high. the urban sector contains buildings and open spaces, including the temple of the sun, the intihuatana or solar observatory, the temple of the three windows, the main temple and the so-called "condor sector" . there is also an impressive stone monolith three metres high and seven metres across its base, called the "sacred stone".
machupicchu hostoric sanctuary in not only invaluable from an archeological point of view, it is also rich in flora and fauna.
(location: 110 km. north west of the city of cusco, four hours by train).

WAYNAPICCHU:

the eternal guardian of thr sanctuary, wayna picchu (young mountain in quechua) dominates the inca citadel.
climbing to the summit is an unfogettable experience. on the way and on the summit itself, there are sacred sites and fine terraces overlooking the ravine. the view is spectacular. it takes between two and three hours on foot.

TIPON:

the water sanctuary of the inkas.
etimology:
the etimology of name of tipon, it should have had origin, possibly, in the colony, for the following considerations:
the area where archeological complex of tipon is located it is volcanic. to the north of the platforms one can see the stratigraphy of the lava, a place where one can observe roasted stones. in the oral tradtions, it is said that formerly, it used to leave (of the main source) it dilutes very hot.
in either case in runasimi ( or quechua from qeswa=valley) "roastes stones" and "it delutes very hot" the word t'impu means to boil. more than two-thirds of the northest sectoris rocky and is called ranra - ranra. howevere, speaking metaphorically ( the andeans are skilled at this), all this plentiful t'impun (abundance of stones, rocks) etc.
description of archeological groups.
in the cliff of the external part (of the east and west) of the wall they are posibbly pre inca tombs.
the walled hill is surrounded (toward the south and nothest), by two small rivers coyamayu and tantamayu respectively that unite in the south part.
pukara:

in pukara, there are residence groups that are supplemented with platforms and irrigationschannels.

Also between the union of the rivers parumayu and qollamayu an entrance of double jamb exists and from the sector to a meter of its right base leaves a cannel guided toward the southwest; without a doubt this place was of religious importance for the construction of fine factory; in which right end adjacent with lithic finely figured regrettably an alluvium (1953) and the time comes taking charge in destroying it.