Ollantaytambo

Today we visited an archeological site in the town of Ollantaytambo, about 11 miles from our hotel in Urubamba. The site consists of a stone fortress that climbs up the side of a steep mountainside. It was built by an Incan emporer in the mid-15th century. The same emporer also led the construction of terraces near the town, which was home to lncan nobility. Later, around 1536, the site was used as a fortress again the Spanish Conquistadors.

There exists also a legend that explains the connection between the town and the Incan Empire. The legend says that a beggar walked into the town of Ollantaytambo before the time of the Incas. The chief of the town was kind to the old man, so the old man repaid the chief by offering him his walking stick. Later, when the chief's son was born, the walking stick turned to gold. When the boy grew up, he took the golden stick and left Ollantaytambo saying that wherever the walking stick sank into the ground would be the location of the Incan Empire. And that, the legend concludes, is how the Incan Empire began.

There are little canals running all through the base of the ruins as well as through the cobblestone streets of the town. The water comes from melted snow atop the high mountains surrounding the area.

Here are a ton of photos I took as Dad and I crept up and back down the ruins.

 

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