THE MYTH OF THE SACRED VALLEY.

The Sacred Valley stretches between the towns of Pisac and Ollantay-Tambo, North West of Cuzco, boasting a rich concentration of archaeological sites. It starts 15 km North of Cuzco and stretches about 100 kilometers between Cuzco city and Machu Picchu.
Many travelers ride the train through the Sacred Valley on a visit to the Southern Peruvian Highlands: a route that connects the city of Cuzco to Machu Picchu. The fortress of Ollantay-Tambo and the ruins of Pisac, both stand on terraced mountainsides overlooking Andean towns. The ruins at Chinchero, Maras, and Moray are also there.
Pisac is 2,715 meters above sea level, 33 kilometers North West of Cuzco. The Inca citadel and the colonial town with its traditional handicraft market are there. The impressive Inca citadel is seated on a precipituous mountain above the town. It extends to 4 kilometers. The citadel involves a ceremonial spiritual centre with the Sun Clock (Inti Watana), temples showing perfect stone masonry, several water canals, ceremonial baths, military zone, residential zone, as well as loads of Inca's tombs placed in holes on a cliff.
Ollantay-Tambo is 2,000 meters above sea level, and the last still a live Inca town. It has been continuously populated for over 700 years. Its streets are paved with cobblestones and you can see many authentic water channels all across the town. The Inca complex is surrounded by precipitous terraces that had also a protecting purpose.
Chinchero is 3,160 meters above sea level, a small town just 28 kilometers far away from Cuzco. It is surrounded by the snowy peaks of Salkantay, Soray, and Veronica. The entire site is surrounded by many Inca agricultural terraces. Beautiful textiles and handicraft are also found in their daily market.
Moray is 3,500 meters above sea level, an archaeological site 50 kilometers North West of Cuzco and just a short distance of Maras village. Many extraordinary terraces formed by circular depressions are found here. The largest of them is around 30 meters deep. The purpose was to create different temperatures that enabled to study effects of different climatic conditions on crops and after that its cultivation. For that reason, Moray is considered to be an Inca's agricultural experimental site as well as a prototype of the first green house.
The altitude and the valley topography together create vistas of striking beauty as well as distinct weather patterns characterized by warm days, cool nights, high precipitation between November and March, and dry conditions during the rest of the year.
The Urubamba/Vilcanota River runs through the valley, and its flow was thought to mimic the shape of the cosmic Milky Way. The Urubamba originates in the mountains of Puno region and its upstream is called Vilcanota, which means the "House of the Sun." The river then flows North-West for 724 kilometers and it changes its name to Urubamba in the Convencion province.
The natural history of the Sacred Valley (Urubamba Valley) is a tale of mighty glacial rivers carving through solid ground to shape one of the most environmentally diverse basins in the Andean Highlands.
From the flat floor of the fertile valley, hills and mountains climb higher and higher to elevations where snow accumulates year round. Elevations range between 2,790 meters (9,000 feet) on the valley floor to 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) and above at the highest peaks (considered the apus, or divine spirits).
Pre-Inca and Inca civilizations constructed terraces on the steep sides of the valley's hills, transforming the region into an agricultural breadbasket. The best Peruvian corn is cultivated in the valley.
The Incas later used the valley as a religious center and an agrarian laboratory to experiment with crops imported from the distance regions of the empire at different altitudes. Almost everywhere we look there are ancient agricultural terraces, some of them still in use. It is a constant reminder that people have lived and thrived in this valley for a very long time.
The Sacred Valley is considered "sacred"because of the number of worshiping sites concentrated therein and for its central importance in the economies of past and present populations. Today it is home to more than 65,000 permanent inhabitants grouped into rural andean communities, making 10% of Cuzco's total regional population.
The Quechua communities in the Sacred Valley continue to be the guardians of centuries-old practices. In food, dress, music, dance, myth and legends, they preserve the ancient rites and customs that provide a link between the ancient history of the valley and the contemporary life in the Andes.