2019-05-22 Inkaterra Hacienda Hotel, Urubamba, Peru
Another bright and clear day for our second full day tour of the Sacred Valley Once again we head off west along the base of the tall mountains passing through the small town of YucayWe pass the local school of the town, with the entrance painted in very bright coloursOn our way to our first stop at Maras, we pass quite stunning sceneryThe colour of the fields in the foreground were amazing, in contrast to the surrounding mountains in the back groundOur first glimpse of the famous salt terraces of Maras from the road high above the site The view of the valley beyond the salt terraces was equally as spectacularWe continued down to the entrance to the salt terraces, which amazingly have been in use since Inca timesDifferent coloured salts are produced here at the Maras salt terracesAfter our visit to the salt terraces we head towards the town of MarasPlaza de Armas is the main square in Maras which has a well photographed centre piece statueThe locals of Maras have set up a lunch stall by the main squareContinuing west towards Moray we pass many fields of cropsQuinoa crops awaiting harvest with stunning glaziers in the mountains behindOur next visit is to Moray, which is famous for its embedded amphitheatre formed by four circular terraces which seem to disappear into the interior like an artificial craterEvidence seem to suggest that Moray was an important centre of Inca agriculture research on crops grown on different sized plots and at various altitudes. The irrigated fertile soil was experimented with more than 250 different types of vegetables and also cereals like corn, quinoa and kiwichaOther terraced circles nearby are still in the stages of being excavated. It is believed these were also used to test growth of vegetables etc in different altitudes and micro climates as were done in the large site While visiting the Moray site which is at the height of 3,500 m above sea level, it was amazing listening to the haunting sounds of the pan pipe flutistWe continue on from Moray to our last stop, heading south east to the small town of ChincheroIt is quite amazing to see how many native Australian eucalyptus trees are growing in PeruA popular and fun way to visit some of the towns in the Sacred ValleyOn the road to Chinchero we came across a panorama lookout which looked down on the Urabamba Valley and we could clearly see the hotel we were staying in belowWith my camera lens to the maximum I could clearly see the Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba Hotel in the far distanceLocally produced weaved products are for sale here at the panorama outlook by the roadOnce we arrived in the small quaint town of Chinchero we first visited an establishment set up a number of years ago to display the traditional locally weaved products and also demonstrated the method of dying yarn and weaving Using natural dyes this young Chinchero lady demonstrated to us how they dyed their yarns for weavingNext we were given a demonstration of weaving by another local young ladyThe staff were very pleased we made a couple of purchasesThe traditionally dressed local Chinchero young ladiesOur next stop was to visit the lamas and alpacas across the roadCute faces …….After feeding the alpacas and lamas we continue walking up the road into the townAfter a visit to one of the local shops, I made a sensible light weight purchase!!I was amazed with the shop owner’s wonderful plats and length of hair, which is very common for the local womenWe arrive at the local town square at the top of the village where there is a large display of locally weaved productsBeautifully weaved rugs ….. unfortunately too heavy for our bagsEvery spare moment is used to spin yarn by the young ladies of the town Soon we were on our way back to the hotel following the winding road back down to Urubamba Once we arrive back at the hotel we say goodbye to our excellent local guide, Yashira and driver, CristianOnce again after a long day of wonderful sightseeing we relaxed in the delightful lounge of the hotelDinner this evening began with carpaccio of tunaFollowed by an unusual eggplant dishFresh saladAs usual a fabulous dessert to finish a delicious dinner
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