Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Ollantaytambo

The fortress of Ollantaytambo, which blocked the access to the Sacred Valley in direction of Cusco and Machu Picchu, was not finished when Pizarro landed, as the blocks scattered on the ground testify. The summit is reached through a series of agricultural terraces by a particularly steep staircase. A ten-niche temple housing the mummies overlooks the Temple of the Sun, made up of six gigantic monoliths weighing around fifty tons (we still wonder how they were hoisted up there). Higher up, adobe and dry-stone dwellings merge with the rock and a walkway runs around the spur to other dwellings, with, at the bottom, pools and baths fed by channels cut into the rock (some stones bear scratches, traces of the cutting). On the mountain opposite, where you can see the face of a strange bearded man, the military school and the prison mark the limits of the settlement. It is also possible to go there and access it freely for those who have not paid the boleto turistico, it is called Pinkuylluna. The citadel is entered and exited through two monumental gates in the adobe and rough stone walls. A craft market has been established in the square below the site.

A visit with impact, because the fortress is literally embedded in a circus of rocks and the higher you go, the more the landscape opens up. A magical experience.

Under the name Pinkullyuna, the ruins in height are referred to as those of Ollantaytambo, which we see on the right of the village. In fact, the agricultural warehouses at the time. This climb is worth the trouble because at the end of 1 h 30 we offer a magnificent view over Ollantaytambo village and its fortress. And there's almost nobody. Take Calle Lares, right just before the Plaza, follow and you will find an open door on the mountain, stone staircases and a sign indicating «Pinkullyuna - hours of visits 7 h -16 h 30». Free.