Ollantaytambo, Peru

After Macchu Piccu we got off the train at Ollantaytambo station and spent two nights here in this magical Inca town.  We stayed at the comfortable Apu Lodge with views of inca ruins on both side of our room.

Ollantaytambo is the most well preserved Inca town in existence.  The cobblestone streets run through a grid of Inca walls built in the 1400s and still inhabited today!  This was our favorite stop in Peru.  Walking through these walls is like stepping back in time.  The countryside around Ollanata is breathtaking, partly because of the 9,000+ft elevation, but also for the forests and waterfalls and mountain views.

Most of the villagers here wear the bright red traditional Inca clothing.  This couple was waiting for the bus in the central square.

The local drink is Chicha, a fermented corn beer with a low alcohol content of about 2-3%.  It is sold out of private homes, who hang a red plastic bag out front to let people know they have a batch ready for sale.  I convinced Lindsey to go in and get a drink.  For 75cents I got a big glass of chicha ladled out of a barrel, and we hung out in this ladies inner courtyard.  We were soon joined by two locals and a couple more tourists.  The colorful guy in the corner spoke only Quechua, his buddy next to me spoke Quechua and Spanish, and the guy in the leather jacket spoke Spanish and English, so we had a convoluted train of translation going.

After two great days exploring in Ollanta, we hired a driver for a one day tour of the Sacred Valley, and a drop off back in Cuzco.  The sacred valley is stunningly beautiful.

We visited the interesting Salt pans of Maras

We passed through mountain viewpoints on back road shortcuts, and saw local folks walking and farming.

Concentric circles of stone terracing made impressive agricultural micro-climates created by the Incas to find the best climate for each of their crops.

The fortress at Pisac is one of the biggest Inca cities, but we had seen soooooooo much Inca stuff by this time that we were thinking "Uh huh.  Terracing.  Inca walls.  Ok, let's move on."

Finally we reached the Pisac Sunday Market which was outstanding!  The best native craft market I've been to.  We only had an hour here, but could have enjoyed 4 hours.  So many interesting things to buy for such cheap prices.  We could have don all our Christmas shopping here.