Author: randy

Ollantaytambo is a fortress at the edge of the town of Agua Caliente. It was built to protect the way into Machu Picchu. A friend told me the other day that this was more impressive than Machu Picchu. She has never been to either but her friend mentioned that Machu Picchu was too crowded which it is, so she seemed to believe his opinion that this was the better site. In my opinion this was way cool but Machu Picchu was awesome. I think the thing is you want to visit Machu Picchu first thing in the morning before the crowds.

At the highest point it was over 16,000ft with a little snow.

This has been a salt mine since long before the Inca empire. A small salt water stream that comes out of the mountain supplies all of the water for the mine. There are around 110 families that own this and each has about 10 pools to harvest salt from.

This is a very interesting agricultural site. Each Terrance has a different temperature for growing different crops. They vary by 1.5 degrees between each level. The steps are built into the walls as not to use ground meant for crops. The foundation in the middle was storage for the crops.

Raqchi was a temple along the Qapaq Nan ( the Inca trail ). The Qapaq Nan goes from Columbia south through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, glances Chili and into Argentina. This temple is different because of the heights of the free standing structures.

As I said I would love to spend a few days in this area of Peru.

This was one of my favorite stops. Small village with a fantastic fortress above it. Felt like it was off the beaten path even though it was just off the highway. I would like to return to this area for some more exploring.

Lake Titikaka is the biggest high elevation fresh water lake in the world. The lake is split down the middle and shared by Peru and Bolivia. Not far off the shoreline is the village of Suma Utita. It consists of over 100 small islands made of reeds. Very interesting.

This monastery is in the middle of town and is a historical landmark. The first born girl of the very rich would honor the family by entering. Unlike most they could bring money and servants with them. For the time they lived very well. It was not what you would picture for they enjoyed music, literature and laughter.