Inca ruins – Roaming About

After two weeks in Cusco, doing camper projects, running errands, being sick, and exploring the historic center, our plans turned a bit tricky. My cousin and her husband, perfect guests who visited us frequently when we sailed in the tropics, had booked plane tickets to join us in the Cusco area for two weeks, towards the end of November, following a two-week bus tour through Southern Peru. Nothing tricky about that, except for the fact that our immigration stamps expired the end of October…

Based on accounts from other overlanders, we believed we had a good chance to obtain another sixty days in Peru, at the border with Bolivia; an ordeal we’d have to figure out later and something I worried about for over a month. It was mid-October now and we had two weeks left in the country.

We expected to visit the Sacred Valley with my family, but what if we wouldn’t be allowed back into Peru? Were we willing to miss out on this country’s highlights, like Machu Picchu, Arequipa, and the villages and archeological sites in the Valle Segrado?

Mark and I opted for an in-between solution: we skipped famous Machu Picchu (expensive and a hassle to get to) – for now – and bought a two-day tourist ticket for 70 soles/$20 each to visit the highlights of the Sacred Valley. This would be a different way of traveling for us, who usually take it slowly, camping wherever it looks attractive. We had two days to explore five sites and two historic villages!

Location Sacred Valley in Peru

Highlights of the Sacred Valley

Pisac archeological site

From the Cusco campground, we headed uphill, past the trio of ruins we’d checked out previously, via a viewpoint that offered potable water from a spigot, to a pull-out along a quiet road for the night. The following morning, we descended into the valley and spotted the famous terraced hills of Pisac.

Getting potable water at a viewpoint

The terraces of Pisac, seen from the viewpoint

Incredible stonework and paths!

Traveling with a camper makes it easy to leave our dog behind, in a cool and shady environment with plenty of water. Mark and I braved the long climb to the citadel, breathing heavily in the thin air and taking many breaks.

The Pisac archeological site is a large Incan complex of agricultural terraces, residences, guard posts, watchtowers, and a ceremonial center along a mountain ridge above the town of the same name. It was built around 1440.

Fort-like structure when entering Pisac

Buildings at a lower level

View into the valley and over the switchback road to the ruins

Structures higher on the hill, a serious climb away

Meandering through the old fort

Little is known about the site’s actual purpose. Researchers believe that old Pisac defended the southern entrance to the Sacred Valley and was an observatory and religious site.

Famous terraces of Pisac

Walking over the top terrace to get to another side of the grounds

Well-maintained Inca wall

The terraces and valley seen from the other side

Climbing up and among the buildings of the upper part of the site

Remnants of the old Inca village of Pisac

The best way to explore this destination is by taking a taxi or minibus to the entrance, climbing the hill, and then following a path down to Pisac town. Since we had our vehicle with us, we only visited the top part of this impressive site.

A llama and an alpaca grazing in the old walls

Trying to leave this touristy site that had gotten much busier by the time we finished exploring

Quechua mother and child on our way down the mountain

Pisac town

When the middle of July arrived, Mark and I found ourselves with only two weeks left in Ecuador, before our allotted three-month entry stamp expired (August 2^nd). By then, we had long decided to skip the jungle region and, more recently, the coast as well. For months, we had looked forward to visiting the beaches of Montanita, watching the sunset, having happy hour with our toes in the sand, and letting Maya frolic in the sea. But it would be a major detour and – as we were about to head that way – police officers, knocking on our door at 6am near Cotopaxi Volcano, talked us out of it. Drug-related crime and petty theft seem to fester along the Ecuadorian coast.

View towards the Temple of the Sun at Ingapirca

Ingapirca – Our First Inca Ruins

The three of us kept heading south after spotting the snowy peak of Volcano Chimborazo (I added a cool photo to my last Ecuador post of my friend Marie on top of the world – and closest to the sun – after scaling Chimborazo) and aimed for the Inca Ruins of Ingapirca.

Marie on the top of Chimborazo at sunrise
Photo credit Marie Fraisse

It was a long drive, involving a massive detour over bumpy roads around and through the town of Alousi, due to a massive landslide and subsequent road works. The scenery was stunning!

(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Stunning scenery along the way in Alousi

Long and bumpy detour

This bus had a hard time making the turn!

We arrived at our destination late afternoon, so the parking lot was pretty full and we took a temporary, unlevel spot, while checking out the neighborhood with Maya. Once a level space became available, we moved and settled in for the night. We’d visit the ruins in the morning, thinking we would stay for two nights. But, since the parking lot was actually straddling a busy road and residents love to ride their loud motorcycles with 2-stroke engines, we decided to not face a second sleepless night.

Parking lot of the Ingapirca ruins, early morning

This relatively small site packed a punch for us, because it was our introduction to the Inca empire and culture. Tickets only cost US$2 per person and include a guide. Maya stayed home for this one. We booked the first tour of the day at 9:15am and enjoyed the different areas and English explanations of our excellent and passionate guide, Segundo.

Information sign three languages

Overview of the site

View towards the Temple of the Sun

Storage areas

Burial site of an important person and where the sun hits during the equinox

Part of the old Inca Trail in Ecuador

We learned a lot about the Incas and their predecessors, the Cañaris, whose building practices the Incas only integrated here at Ingapirca, Southern Ecuador. Both groups used different kinds of stones, visible at this site. The Cañaris utilized round river rocks and the Incas cut, rectangular blocks. This is the only Inca site in the world with a temple (Temple of the Sun – Templo del Sol) that has round walls, because of the influence of the Cañaris.

Grazing llamas on the site

Temple of the Sun

These blocks were removed from the site by farmers and then – during a local campaign – returned for their historical value. The wider curved stone acted as a beam support for a building. The narrower, deeper curved stone was to sacrifice llamas.

Temple of the Sun

This significant building was a gathering place and had important relics on display – nobody lived here

The Temple of the Sun seen from its back side in the fields

After the hour-long tour, Mark and I finished exploring the region with a self-guided walk past smaller sites and through nature. It was super quiet and we had to work around sprinklers in the fields to avoid getting soaked.