Honeymooning in South America: Cuzco and the Incas

My idea of the Incas was of course taken from TV and hearsay. I had a mental image of a gigantic and mysterious empire that built cities all over north-western south America for many centuries until the Spaniards came and killed, converted and enslaved everybody. After visiting the city of Cuzco, the Incas capital and Machu-Picchu, their enigmatic hidden city, I think far less of them. Never the less, Some nice photos are attached to this entry.

First, a common mistake (by common mistakes I mean mistakes I made), the Incas were not a people, but the rulers. ¨The Inca¨ was the king so at every given moment there was just one (well.. at the end there were two). Other then the ruler there were many social classes but most of the people, the common people, were the same people who existed before the Incas (Quechua or Aymaru speaking tribes).

A second mistake, many people think that the Inca empire existed for many centuries and introduced most of the sciences and craftsmanship to this part of the continent. Actually, they were very strong in building and organisation but they borrowed or copied most of their ideas, methods and even believes (deities, rituals etc') from people they conquered. They weren't the first expansionists but they were the biggest. They existed between 1200 something-1533 and had their expansionist era (that is, they expanded their empire beyond Cuzco to greater Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and northern Chile and Argentina) only between 1438-1533 when they were vanquished by the Spaniards. It is said that one of the reasons for their swift defeat against the Spaniards is the lack of loyalty of the people they governed (and enslaved).

More reasons for their defeat could be the Spanish armored horsemen, European disease and the fact that the Inca empire was divided between two brothers, who fought each other, when the Conquistadores arrived.

And another very disappointing fact, even though they had apparent knowledge in agricultural sciences (evidence of botanic testing), Astronomy, Math, Building engineering and others they kept none or few records and no written documents (they had a different and rather non-preserving method of knots on strings). And, of course, the Spaniards ruined most of the evidences. It makes the Inca empire more enigmatic and it gives archaeologists a chance to debate and write books but it also makes them boring to the tourists who have to listen to the guide trying to explain (rarely in good English) that what you see in front of you can't be interpreted for more then you see.

Cuzco

The main square (Plaza de armas) of Cuzco

Main cathedral, Cuzco

Once the capital city of the Incas. They named it Qosqo (Q like the Hebrew 'chet') which means the center of the universe. Nothing really important happened here between the Spanish conquest in the 16th century and the discovery of Machu-Picchu in 1911. Since than Cuzco is a central destination for travelers. Never the less, there are beautiful colonial and Inca buildings here and because of the enormous flux of tourists, the entire economy here is constructed on tourism. Everyone here is either works in a restaurant , a hotel, as a tourist operator,as a taxi driver, as a guide or as a thief/robber/beggar.

Another plaza in Cuzco

Colonial courtyard, Cuzco

Fountain in Cuzco

We spent 2-3 days here to tour the city and to arrange a tour to Machu-Picchu and the sacred valley of the Incas. I found the city charming. Despite the many harassments by the locals, who try to sell you stuff and get you to their restaurants/hotel/tour, and the abundance of Israeli affected environment (Hebrew signs etc') the buildings are amazing, the colonial streets kept the narrow characteristics of the Inca ones and the museums, cathedrals and historic sites were worth the visit ... In some sense, Cuzco is more impressive (in my eyes) then Machu-Picchu.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas and Machu-Picchu

We went on an organized tour to the sacred valley of the Incas and the lost city Machu-Picchu. When I asked why was the valley sacred to the Incas the guide told me that it is because of the many species of corn they grew here. The pre-Inca and Inca governed societies based their beliefs and ways of life on their surrounding nature. They worshiped the sun, the moon and the mountains as deities (the Andeans here are really impressive) and kept track of both a religious calender and an agricultural one.

Karin (the sacred wife) and the sacred valley

In the sacred valley we visited ruins in the towns Pisaq and Ollantaytambo. Pisaq is a colonial town. The Inca ruins are on the adjunct mountain. As mentioned before, the locals here lived around the Inca center, at the bottom of the mountain, and only the upper classes lived on the mountain.

Terraces in Pisaq (and a little local playing the flute)

The Inca's method of construction and agriculture on mountains consisted on terraces. The terraces were used not only as farmlands but also to stop the mountains' erosion. It is visible in Colca valley, the sacred valley ruins and Machu-Picchu. In Pisaq there were evidences of experimental grows of different plants including cotton (which is usually grown in far lower altitudes).

Pisaq ruins

A 'Temple of the Sun' (sometimes two) was present in all the places we visited. The Inca's sun temples are round and have windows in specific direction so that the sunlight at sunrise comes from different direction in different seasons and casts different light and shadow of the centerpiece of the temple (which is always natural bedrock). Thus, the Inca followed the seasons precisely. The temple in Ollantaytambo is square because it predates the Incas.

Massive stones in Ollantaytambo's temple of the sun

In the Ollantaytambo ruins there is a massive storage area up on the neighboring bountain. The Incas had gigantic storage that actually sustained the local people for years when the Gold and Silver frenzy of the Spaniards forced them to abandon agriculture.

The Inca's building technique is very impressive. Extremely accurate stone cutting and polishing makes you think that it took them centuries to build their cities. Luckily they had slave labour. In Ollantaytambo and in most of Machu-Picchu there are much more findings that predate the Inca and have other building techniques. Another impressive attribute of the Inca buildings is the constant leaning angles of the walls which strengthened the building against the earthquakes this region is so 'blessed' with. The water to their temples, BTW, is conducted in elaborated underground tunnels from nearby mountains. The quarreys from which they brought the gigantic stones are sometimes many km away.

Ollantaytambo was also where the last major battle between the Inca Manco and the Spaniards (led by Fransisco Pissaro). Before fleeing, The Inca ordered to destroy and cover the trail to Machu-Picchu, which was lost even to the Peruvians until rediscovered in 1911 by an America explorer.

Machu-Picchu

It is considered to be a must in the entire continent, it's the reason for Cuzco's flourishing economy and it is also the reason why the small town that reside below it, Aguas Calientes, is a totally touristic and overpriced place. Nether the less, after much unearthing and reconstructing (about 25% of the place is reconstructed) Machu-Picchu, residing on a steep mountain and accessible only through certain trails (and today, a bus) has preserved much of the Inca's splendor (most of the findings are, however, in the US and all the mommies that were found here were burned .. Because of the fear of diseases) of mighty architectural skills.

We got up early and our guided tour started at 6:30. Later, we climbed the near peak to take pictures from above. The city's shape is supposed to remind a Condor (Cuzco is in the shape of a Puma .. the other animal in Inca mythology is the snake and they represent the 3 levels or universes in their religion) and it is hard to force your imagination to see it. On the other hand, when standing on the opposite side of the site it is easy to see that the mountains form a very nice head shape.

Nobody knows why it was built and who lived there (Cuzco was the capital). Even today, a much larger city is being uncovered in the amazon basin. To me it seems lame that a giant empire, even if week and defeated, leaves no evidence. That is why I won't bother with any more details and let the pictures speak for themselves.