Road to Cusco - Ollantaytambo Temple

From Machu Picchu, we took the train back to Ollantaytambo where the bus took us to the Temple Hill on its outskirts.  We hiked up 200 steps to the top of the hill - the Temple of the Sun.  The hike wasn't too bad as there were terraces every 50 steps or so to take breaks and to admire the view. The temple was unfinished but what was left there, the wall of the six monoliths, was considered one of the masterpieces of Inca stonework, perfectly fitted together with thin slices of stone and oriented to glow with the rising sun.  There were also first class stone work in the wall of the ten niches as you can see below.

Food stalls where locals eat at the train station - reminded me of food stalls in Asia

Temple Hill - 200 steps led to the top of this "fortress" with terraces built into the mountainside

Different layers of terraces with different grades of stone and stone work- field stone below and the highest quality  of cut stones on top, reserved for temples and kings

First class stonework in the Temple of the Ten Niches

These niches have an amplification effect if you speak into them.
The stones fit together like Lego!

This photo (taken by another member of my tour as I ran out of battery) shows how a boulder had been cut so the stones fitted like lego pieces - awesome!

 Beautiful trapezoidal entrance

Wall of the six monoliths of pink rhyolite - the Incas dragged these from a quarry 6 km away.  Amazing how they got them up to the top.

Inca markings on the monoliths 

Abandoned boulders indicated a hurried departure of the builders

View of Ollantaytambo from the top of the Temple

View of the surrounding countryside and the quarry from the top of the Hill

Original Inca fountain at the base of Temple Hill (photo by JW)

The long road to Machu Picchu - Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes

From Urubamba, we drove to Ollantaytambo to take the train to Machu Picchu.  There was time before the train for a short tour of the old Inca town with many original Inca streets and walls.  It has some of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in South America.  High above the town were remnants of what were described as silos for storage from Inca times.  Temple Hill was an impressive fortress-like structure in town although it was really a temple.  We would be visiting this on our way back from Machu Picchu.  More on this later.

Silos above the town's Inca streets.

Original Inca doorways and courtyards

Not an Inca door but a nice one with the Inca cross

We visited with a local family in this original Inca house and courtyard.  It's a one room home where the family slept, cooked, ate and raised guinea pigs (cuy - a delicacy here) to supplement the household income.  

Guinea pigs raised as a delicacy

The family altar - you can see the ancestors' skulls near the top of the photo

Dried goods

Ancient walkways

Temple hill

The train to Machu Picchu
with the Vista Dome

The train ran along the Urubamba River cutting through the fertile Sacred Valley.  If you are taking it, try to get a seat on the left side of the train as that is the river side.  Lots to see beside the river.

The 4 day Inca trail started at this bridge just a short distance out of Ollantaytambo

The town of Agua Calientes where the train dropped us off and we took a bus up to Machu Picchu.  It was a 25 minute ride on a rough mud road with hairpin bends.  I was surprised I did not get car sick.

Finally, the entrance to Machu Picchu -

and here is the much awaited view...