My private tour of the Sacred Valley began the next day, at the Inca town of Ollantaytambo, about 30 minutes drive down the valley from Yucay.
Now, the Incas. I learned that they were a relatively recent civilisation. 'Incas' probably first formed in the 1200s AD after the amalgamation of several groups under one leader
Manco Capac and Cusco was the centre, or capital. In the mid 1400s
Pachacuti began an expansion of the empire, both peacefully via alliances and by force. Its thought he had Machu Picchu built. After his son,
Tupac Inca Yupanqui, the empire spread from Andean Colombia, through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and the west of Argentina.
Unlike the Mayans, there was no writing and no 'art' in the form of carved images etc on stone. There was pottery, textiles etc. Most of the Inca history was derived from early Spanish chroniclers, including one who married an Inca princess.
The Spanish conquistadores, led by Francisco Pizarro and his brothers, first made contact with the Inca in 1526. In the early 1530s, the Spaniards defeated the last true Inca 'king'
Atahualpa. First they ransomed him for a massive amount of gold and silver, then brought false charges against him and he was killed in 1533. A few descendants were kept as figureheads, but were gone by 1600.
Ollantaytambo was and is an Inca town and is the last train station before Aguas Calientes or 'Machu Picchu town'. There are no roads to Aguas Calientes. Its rather bustling, with a pleasant central square. Many streets are original 'Inca'.
Its also the site of an Inca 'citadel', where I began my Inca 'education' from my guide, Carlos. Its hard to know what to call these types of places because of course nothing was written down and there seemed to be multiple functions. LH pic shows the town from the citadel; RH pic shows the famous Inca stonework, where blocks of stone have their edges ground so fine they fit together with barely a space between. However I learned and observed that only 'important' buildings got that treatment. Most walls etc were 'simple' dry stone.
As usual, the structure has many agricultural terraces down the slopes.
At the top and bottom were buildings, mostly stone to about 1.5 - 2.0 m high, then adobe (now gone) and thatched roofs with wooden beams. A ritual fountain at the right.
As usual, I was taken through some houses and in one observed this kitchen scene - 'cuy', pronounced 'coo-ee' (easy for an Aussie to remember). My thoughts turned immediately to dinner. On the drive back to Yucay, the guide pointed out the red things on poles; this shows that the establishment sells
chicha 
:evil: The first time I heard it I nearly dived under the table. Every 15 mins or so for a few hours (only during the afternoon, fortunately) one put up with small explosions near overhead.
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