This complex lies northward at the edge of the Inca capital Cuzco, and was constructed around 1438-1471 CE during the reign of Pachacuti.  The buildings, which still stand proud today prove just how skilled the Inca architects were, and the beauty of the builds that blend perfectly into the landscape just go to show how much effort and love was put into the building of the complex.

“Huge blocks were quarried and shaped using nothing more than harder stones and bronze tools. Marks on the stone blocks indicate that they were mostly pounded into shape rather than cut.”(www.ancient.eu)

The striated Andesite, which the site is composed of, is cut by fractures and has folded over itself. (This could be due to the way the rock had been stretched, deformed and broken over time during its formation.) Andsidite, which is a volcanic rock, is also igneous in formation, being a direct result of cooling of lava or magma from the earth’s mantle.

It is estimated that the outstanding abilities of the cutting and setting were so exact that a mortar wasn’t necessary in the buildings. After everything was completed each surface was smoothed using grinding stones and sand. The Sacsayhuaman site also holds it fair share of secrets. While what most people only ever see are the walls and giant stones there are many more places to adventure if you know where to go.  “For example the X zone, named so because Jesús Gamarra started to use the name, ‘rodaderos’, a kind of natural fairground slide, the big rock named ‘la Chincana Grande’, where the tunnels start, towards Koricancha.”(http://www.ancient-mysteries-explained.com) Making Sacsayhuaman one of the most interesting sites in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Picture References

Kusuma, B. (2017, June 05). Sacsayhuaman The magnificent Inca fortress, Cusco Peru. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBC0up0Cv1M

Langan, C., Riggs, R., McGehee, R., & Williams, J. (2018, November 22). Sacsayhuaman Stone Wall, Cusco, Peru Poster by Aidan Moran. Retrieved from https://fineartamerica.com/featured/sacsayhuaman-stone-wall-cusco-peru-aidan-moran.html?product=poster

Trejo, A. M. (2007, August 03). SACSAYHUAMAN-CUSCO-PERU. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuIsZfEQa2U

To locals they are known as the Salinas de Maras, but to everyone else they are known as the Moray and Maras Salt Pans. While we cannot be sure about the time of their creation, our best estimates state that they were made in the 1400’s by the Incas. They then followed generations over hundreds of years expanding slowly. Due to the process of evaporation, salt can be harvested from the shallow pools. “A natural spring feeds a salt-rich stream that flows down into the pools, which are then opened and damned individually as needed.” (www.atlasobscura.com) After the pools are full  the water is allowed to evaporate. Then, all that is left are the salt crystals which can be collected and used and sold at the local market. Even in today’s time the approximately 3000 pools are still harvested by a small community, continuing what the Incas started some 1000 years ago.

“Maras salterns are located over the Maras Formation in the Cusco Department  in southern Peru at an altitude of 3,380 m in the Andes. Salt is produced mostly during the dry season from May to November. The salterns consist of more than 3,000 small shallow ponds which are not interconnected, so there is no spatial salinity gradient as there is in multipond marine solar salterns. Each pond is filled with hypersaline water from a spring feeding the saltern and empties after salt precipitation, so the ponds act directly as crystallizers. …The origin could be related to the presence in the Maras Formation of underground halite deposits dating to 110 million years ago.” (www.annees-de-pelerinage.com)

Click below to check out an interesting video!

The Ancient Salt Pans of Peru

Picture References

Dachalan. (2008, February 25). Salt pans. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/54945394@N00/2290582561

Sacred Valley of the Incas: Salt, Stones & Secrets [42 PICS]. (2015, July 23). Retrieved from http://www.lovethesepics.com/2014/03/sacred-valley-of-the-incas-salt-stones-secrets-42-pics/

The Ollantaytambo Ruins are believed to be actually built atop the ruins of a much older city, and while the rocks themselves look rough to the touch, if you were to actually reach down and feel them you’d find them to be smooth. AncientCode.com stated that “It is hard to believe that Ollantaytambo was built without some kind of technology, because there is only so much you can achieve with stone and bronze tools, at some point you would need stronger and bigger tools to achieve precise cuts, removing Andesite and transporting rocks that weigh over 50 tons.”  The resulting beauty and smoothness of the rocks lead some to believe that a kind of vitrification was used. (Something usually used for glass making or ceramics.) Within the Ollantaytambo Ruins there lies something called the temple of the Condor. The temple of the Condor is composed of Humongous slabs of Andesite rock. In this example the rocks were removed so carefully and delicately that there are hardly any scratches. To add to the mystical beauty the rocks were all taken from what is called the “Wall of Living Rock.” (Pictured below.)

Ollantaytambo stone carvings

A closer look at the Wall

Ollantaytambo Ruins

Wall of Living Rock

Picture References

Ancient Code. (2017, November 16). Ollantaytambo-Built with advanced ancient technology from the “Gods”? Retrieved from https://www.ancient-code.com/ollantaytambo-built-with-advanced-ancient-technology-from-the-gods/

Hubka, S. (2018, April 20). A Day in Peru’s Sacred Valley of the Incas. Retrieved from https://www.roadunraveled.com/blog/peru-sacred-valley-ollantaytambo-tour/

Uncover the Secrets of the Ollantaytambo Ruins. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.touropia.com/ollantaytambo-ruins/

The most famous Inca ruin is of course, Machu Picchu. Located high in the Purvian mountains, these underlying rocks are the most interesting of their kind in the Inca ruins. The rocks are granite in composition, meaning that they are igneous of birth and are composed of mostly Quartz, Alkali Feldspar and Plagioclase Feldspar. These large minerals also contain trace minerals of Alumina and Silica, as well as, Sodium and Calcium. In some cases they can also contain small amounts of minerals such as Hornblende and Biotite Mica. The slow cooling of magma that produces igneous rocks allowed for larger crystals to be formed. Meaning that these granite rocks are most likely intrusive in birth. (When a rock has large crystals it is most common that they were formed inside the earth, cooling slowly.) Granite rock is one of the best building materials for numerous reasons, due to their interlocking grain patterns they are sturdy and the Incas were able to arrange them in such ways so that their buildings withstood any seismic activity. (This is without the use of cement or any other binding agent.) The use of this rock is one of the factors that makes the area so stunning. Additionally, the Purvian mountains, which are a smaller branch of the Andes are a geological wonder themselves. The two mountains in question are Huayna Picchu and Putucusi with elevations of 2720 and 2560 meters respectively. Overall making this area a favorite for tourists worldwide. 

Picture References

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/maps

MACHU PICCHU – HUAYNA PICCHU – MONTAÑA MACHU PICCHU. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://perucycling.blogspot.com/2015/06/machu-picchu-huayna-picchu-montana.html

SAS Travel Peru. (n.d.). You are here: MULTI DAYS TOURS with CLASSIC INCA TRAIL TREK. -LIMITED SPOTS. (BOOK 10-5 MONTHS BEFORE) Cusco, SHORT INCA TRAIL, Colca Canyon, Titikaca Lake. 10 Day Tour Package. Daily Departures. Retrieved from https://www.sastravelperu.com/english/program/1605/cusco-short-inca-trail-colca-canyon-titikaca-lake-10-day-tour-package-daily-departures

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is not the only name that this enchanting area goes by. To the locals it is known as El Valle Sagrado. However, to everyone outside of the beautiful country of Peru it is known as the most stunning trek in the Western hemisphere. With a marvelous landscape, full of rich history and geological wonders, there’s no question as to what makes this area so beloved by its people and so attractive to tourists. The Sacred Valley lies between the wonderful towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo, which lie parallel to the river Vilcanota. Most who travel to the Sacred Valley usually use the Peruvian capital of Cusco as a ‘base camp’ as the valley itself holds many different sites worth visiting. This field guide touches on the four biggest geologic areas in the valley.

1. Inca ruins
2. Ollantaytambo ruins
3. Moray salt pans, Maras salt pans
4. Sacsayhuamán site

Picture References

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.machupicchu.org/sacred_valley_peru.htm

Inca Fortress with Terraces and Temple Hill in Ollantaytambo,.. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.123rf.com/photo_64731335_inca-fortress-with-terraces-and-temple-hill-in-ollantaytambo-peru-ollantaytambo-was-the-royal-estate.html

Porbital. (n.d.). Inca salt farm stock image. Image of salt, peru, andes – 41572627. Retrieved from https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-inca-salt-farm-ancient-produced-evaporation-peru-image41572627

Tours and day trips in Cusco,Peru. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.day-trips-in.tours/Peru/Peru_Cusco_26.html

A section of the incredible ancient circles of Moray in Peru… (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.123rf.com/photo_56155958_a-section-of-the-incredible-ancient-circles-of-moray-in-peru-located-50-km-northwest-of-cusco-in-the.html

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.machupicchu.org/sacred_valley_peru.htm

”The Living Stones of Sacsayhuaman” documentary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.arcanafactor.org/en/our-projects/sacsayhuaman

10 Best Things to Do in the Sacred Valley. (2018, September 05). Retrieved from https://www.machupicchutrek.net/things-to-do-in-the-sacred-valley/

Ancient Code. (2017, November 16). Ollantaytambo-Built with advanced ancient technology from the “Gods”? Retrieved from https://www.ancient-code.com/ollantaytambo-built-with-advanced-ancient-technology-from-the-gods/

Cartwright, M. (2018, November 22). Sacsayhuaman. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Sacsayhuaman/

Evidence Suggests Incas Could Dissolve & Reconstitute Limestone, page 1. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1116489/pg1

Lonely Planet. (n.d.). The Sacred Valley travel. Retrieved from https://www.lonelyplanet.com/peru/cuzco-and-the-sacred-valley/the-sacred-valley

Mysteries of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. (2017, July 02). Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/machu-picchu-and-the-sacred-valley-peru/index.html

Sacred Valley Of The Incas. (2018, September 05). Retrieved from https://www.machupicchutrek.net/sacred-valley-of-the-incas/

Ugc. (2014, November 25). Salt Pans of Maras. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/salt-pans-of-maras

What is the chemical composition of granite? – Times of India. (2003, August 16). Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/What-is-the-chemical-composition-of-granite/articleshow/133723.cms

Geolwh, A. (2016, May 30). Peru’s Sacred Valley- Andean Culture With Some Geologic Context. Retrieved from https://www.geopostings.com/perus-sacred-valley-andean-culture-with-some-geologic-context/

The rocks of Machu Picchu and other Inca sites to see in Peru • Exploring the Earth. (2018, May 04). Retrieved from http://exploringtheearth.com/2015/06/30/machupicchu/

Geocaching. (n.d.). Striated Extrusion of Sacsayhuamán. Retrieved from https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2Q45T_striated-extrusion-of-sacsayhuaman?guid=073a2cde-b8b6-4692-90fb-a59970e7d568