December 22, 23
Sacsayhuaman
Sascsayhuaman (sounds like sexy woman) is a UNESCO world heritage site near Cusco that is 3700 m.a.s.l. Construction began in 1350 and took 90 years to complete. Most of the stones were removed and used at other sites over the years. The majority of those remaining were too large to move. The Inti Raymo ceremony is still celebrated here.
Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo was a well established city in Inca times. The city is still inhabited and is considered the only living Inca city in South America. The site has a large temple that was built for worshipping the sun. The temple was never finished (the Spanish attacked) and because of that how the how the large boulders were moved is revealed. The trail from the quarry to the temple has stones as large as 80 tons that were in the process of being moved.
Machu Picchu (Old Mountain)
Another UNESCO site that needs no introduction. The site is 7, 879 f.a.s.l. This site was built around 1450 and was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. Others were aware of the site prior to 1911, but it was Bingham who obtained funding for exploration and brought the site to world attention. Visiting MP is now done by circuits. We did circuit 2 and had the opportunity to visit early the next morning (530 am) watch the sun rise and do circuit 3. Since there is little chance of seeing the sun rise at this time of the year, I opted to sleep in a bit and explore the town. Those that went for the early morning day 2 really enjoyed it. MP was inhabited by the Inka priests who looked after the ceremonies and rituals of the sun worshippers. There are several sectors to MP - the Hanan sector (where people lived); the Urban sector has the Sun temple, the Royal Tomb and the Temple of the Three Windows; the Agricultural sector. I'm sure there are more sectors (that's what I remember).
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