Peru Part 2 - The Sacred Valley

After our first day in Cusco, we explored an area outside of Cusco known as The Sacred Valley. The Valley was formed by the Urubamba River cutting through an area of the Andes Mountains in Peru.  It is the path the Incans took to get from the Incan capital of Cusco to the sacred city of Machu Picchu.  Today it is littered with various Incan ruins and historical sites.

One of the sites we visited was called Chinchero.



The Incan site consisted of many terraced levels throughout the hillside. And at the top of the ruins was a church built in the 1600's, after the Spanish conquered the Incans.
 

At 12,000 feet above sea level, exploring these ruins was no easy task! I think I had to rest 3 times to get to the top of these stairs. The altitude just winds you so fast!

Outside the ruins is a small town where locals have markets and sell blankets made from Alpaca.

 

We had the most amazing weather. Blue skies, 72 degrees and beautiful white puffy clouds. Made for fun landscape shots!

 

That's all for now, stay tuned for more Peru photos!