Peru 2 – Ollantaytambo and hodgepodge
Sacred Valley of the Incas
First off, apologies all around as this post is going to be pretty brief. I had a few more pictures to post and didn’t want to leave you all blog-less this week while Lindsay and I trek to
Macchu Pichu so decided to just do a mini-post to show up while we’re trekking. Enjoy the brevity…
Lindsay and I so enjoyed the village of Ollantaytambo that we decided on Monday that we would head back there and spend the night. Fortunately it is low season here in Peru so rooms of all varieties are plentiful. Ollantaytambo is a really nice village that is the traditional first stop on the way to Machu Picchu when taking the train. The setting is really beautiful with the ruins up on the hill and the little cobblestoned streets down below in the village. Lindsay became fascinated with all of the colored doorways and thus we embarked upon a photography project (which are unfortunately all on her camera). I’ve included a couple of the pictures of the streets for your viewing pleasure.
The ruins here (covered in tourists unfortunately) are an old temple with water fountains, cleansing baths, temples to the sun and other gods. The town square below is quaint with cafes and shops all around with great outdoor tables for sipping sangria in the Andes. I’ve also included a couple of people pictures…me and Lindsay (of course) and our new friend Chris (originally of England, currently of New Zealand).
Main Square of Ollantaytambo
Ruins in the baths of Ollantaytambo
View of terraces from the bottom
Since we are about to embark on a 3 night stay in tents (actually, as you are reading this we have already been in the tent for two nights) we decided to splurge a little on our hotel room in Ollantaytambo and stayed at this beautiful place complete with flower gardens and a fireplace surrounded by comfy couches. It was a nice relaxing way to spend a beautiful evening in the Andes before we head to the Lost City of Machu Picchu. We’ll be in MP until Saturday evening and then leave for the jungle on Monday morning so watch for lots of new posts coming soon. Until next time…
Me and Lins
Lins and Chris
Our splurgy hotel
Tags: 9 - Peru, Cusco, Ollantaytambo, Peru
December 15th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
What a beautiful town! How was the tent?