From Urubamba, we bused to Chinchero and walked on the Camino Inca down to the Urubamba River at Urquillos (almost 900m of descend fused together John's collapsible walking pole); we bused to Maras and walked to Moray; we bused to Lamay and walked up to Huchuy Qosqo, something we had originally ruled out during planning due to 800m ascend at altitude. I barely survived.
The terracing, Incan and contemporary, at all three sites was mesmerizing. Being a terrace junky, I certainly came to the right place.
The 3-story Mercado in Urubamba. I could have stood here and watched the activity forever but we were in search of vegetarian food for lunch, dinner, breakfast, and tomorrow's lunch-on-the-go. Our Hospedajae had a shared kitchen, and there are 3 vegetarian restaurants in Urubamba, thus many options. However, all of the veg restos were closed for lunch that day so we ended up buying some deep-fried veg patties for lunch, and SL bought ingredients for soup to be made at some later date.
The church on the Plaza.
More shopping at the Mercado. This stalls sells sauces + not-so-perishable food stuffs.
Wow! This is our 3rd full day in the Sacred Valley and we've only visited 1 of the 16 sites on the Boleto Turistico.
Just before dusk we headed out for a walk around town. Urubamba is much more lively than these photos suggest.
We had dinner at a Chifa (Chinese Restaurant) that had a Chinese person behind the counter, so it was easy to order some vegetarian dishes. But after that meal SL cooked dinner every night in the shared kitchen.
Plaza at night.
The next morning we walked 10 minutes down to the Bus Terminal and got on the Cusco-bound bus; we will get off at Chinchero. Our plan is to visit the Chinchero Ruins, then walk down on the Inca Road to the Urubamba River at Quirllos, then catch a van back to Urubamba. Urubmaba is at 2900 meters, Chinchero is at 3800 so this seems like the perfect plan; let the bus take us up to 3800 meters, then walk downhill. The view from the bus window back to Urubamba is amazing.
And in 15 minutes or so we are up on the pampa with a view toward Maras where we will start our walk tomorrow.
Unfortunately, InOurOpinion, the Plaza and Church at Chinchero are inside the control area for the Boleto Turistico and are therefore sanitized; only souvenirs and crafts-for-tourists for sale.
And the Church requires an additional ticket (S/10) which we bought even though no photos are allowed. Here's what we saw.
The plaza is in front of an Incan Wall with very large trapezoidal arches/niches and gates at each end. Behind the wall is the bell tower (right) and the church (left). Archaeologists believe Chinchero was a country resort for a prominent Incan, and that the current church was built on the foundations of an Incan temple.
To the far left of the church is a big open field with terraces plunging down into a ravine.
Looking back from the big field to the Church.
Terraces.
Huacas: shrines cut into big rocks.
More terraces.
From this set of terraces, we walked down past another huaca (lower left) to the Inca Road (Camino Inca) seen way down to the left.
I pose on top of the huaca.
And we are headed down to the Urubamba River on the Inca Road.
It's nice day for walking ie partly to mostly cloudy.
This friendly husband+wife tean - the gentleman said "stay to the left" on your way to Urqillos - are cutting wheat with hand scythes. The field closer to the camera is potatoes.
I take a break.
Easy walking.
The Sacred Valley appears.
As we get closer to Urquillos, we encounter civilization in the form of eucalyptus plantations, plowed fields, irrigation channels, and tourist resorts.
The very tranqillo Plaza in Urquillos with big trees, church, school.
The route.
Elevation gain/loss.
On our way back to Urubamba, we stopped in Yucay to check out the enormous Incan Terrace that are still used as they have always been used.
More shopping at the market.
And coffee with a view on the covered terrace of our hospedajae.
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