The Inca empire left a rich legacy of history and architecture; Ollantaytambo is certainly one more Inca wonder. The archaeological site stands in a beautiful, highlands valley, and also, if you are looking for rustic, for typical, the site’s village will surely fulfill all your expectations.
The Ollantaytambo Site: Impressive Stonework
The construction of this Inca wonder began in the early 1400s, by order of Inca Pachacutec, who launched an expansion of his regional Cusco kingdom and thus commissioned the building of many control complexes; Ollantaytambo was one of them, intended to establish Inca rule over the valley.
Ollantaytambo archaeological site landscape
Ollantaytambo was such a massive project, that in 1532, when the Spanish invaded, it wasn’t finished yet, although it functioned as political control station right from the start. The site displays the master, impressive Inca stonework that still amazes and puzzles visitors; even top today’s engineers have a hard time explaining how the Incas managed to move such immensely heavy rock blocks.
Also, in typical Inca way, the site has a large area for agricultural terraces, mainly for potato, corn and coca; the government controlled all production and distribution, but in a very rational way. The Inca empire never knew famine or food scarcity; actually, one of the main buildings at the site is a large warehouse for storing crops. From the site itself, you will have a full, striking view of all the valley and the village.
The Ollantaytambo buildings are made of rocks so massive, that is really worth the time to take a good while to watch them; the site also has, again in typical Inca fashion, a religious area, the mind-blowing Temple of the Sun. Some people have even talked about this place being built by extraterrestrials or using alien anti-gravitational technology. However, scientific research strongly points of course to the use of large workforce and a very efficient system of cutting and moving those stones with ropes from the quarries.
One more article in Inca Culture: The Pachamama or Mother Earth
To sum it up, Ollantaytambo is a great and typical Inca wonder and empire site, which displays their organization and way of doing things: political control in expansion, agriculture, religion, splendid urban design and architecture. By the way, the Ollantaytambo village remains almost the same as it was in Inca times, to the point of being called “living Inca place”.
Visiting this Inca Wonder
Ollantaytambo typical street
Ollantaytambo is composed of both the village in the valley, and the archaeological site on the mountains’ slope; at the village you will find everything rustic-style, from houses and restaurants to markets and alleys. However, tasty typical food can be found, and also you could do a lot of shopping of Andean items.
TOUR IN PERU has daily tours to the Ollantaytambo Inca wonder, with our top service which combines the best efficiency and logistics with our warm and supporting customer service. A professional, experienced guide will take you along all these wonderful places and also explain all the things the Inca meant by building this complex.
TOUR IN PERU can also fully customize our packages to meet your needs, they have all flexibility you may require on your vacation. There is too the option of private tours to Machu Picchu and private services, a choice many travelers make to have an even more wonderful Cusco experience.
Your visit to this Inca wonder can surely be a great plus, for example, to your Machu Picchu tour or other package you find interesting and inviting; please check the website www.tourinperu.com for complete information about visiting the Cusco region.
We hope you have liked this article about this Inca wonder! Contact our staff for inquiries and booking your next great travel adventure!
