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Pisac
Pisac
Pisac.
Pisac is 32km from Cusco by paved road and is the most convenient starting point for a visit to the Sacred Valley. There are two Pisac one is the colonial and modern village lying beside the river, and the other is an Inca fortress on a mountain spur about 600m above. There is a telephone near the bridge into town if you need to make a call.
Colonial Pisac & Tipical Market.
For most of the week, colonial Pisac is a quiet. Andean village, and there’s little to do except sit and relax in the plaza or visit the clay oven bakery near the Plaza de Armas for the hot out of the oven flatbread rolls typical of the area, take a look at their Castillo de cuyes ( a miniature castle inhabited by guinea pigs).
The village comes alive on Sunday, however, when the famous weekly market takes place. This attracts traditionally dressed locals from miles around and garishly dressed tourists from all over the world. Despite being a big tourist attraction, this bustling, colorful market retains at least some of its traditional air. The selling and bartering of produce for locals goes on alongside stalls full of weavings and sweaters for tourists. Many of the stall holders come from Cusco, and even after hard bargaining, prices in Pisac are not any lower than those in Cusco. The main square is thronged with people and becomes even more crowded after the mass (given in Quechua), when the congregation leaves the church in a colorful procession, led by the mayor holding his silver staff of office. Things start winding down about lunchtime, and by evening, the village returns to its normal somnolent state.
There’s a smaller crafts market on Thursday (fewer tourists, but plenty of handy crafts) and one a smaller still on Tuesday, and a few stallholders sell souvenirs every day during the high season, but it’s pretty quiet compared to Sunday. Calle Bolognesi has several interesting looking stores where you can see crafts being made.
Inca Pisac.
The Inca ruins above the village are among my favorites partly because the walk there is so spectacular, and partly because the site is less visited than others on the tourist circuit, and so, except on Sunday, you don’t see too many people. The ruins are reached either by a 10km paved road up the Chongo valley or by a shorter (about 5km) but steep footpath from the plaza. There is little traffic along the road, but it’s possible to hire a cab in Pisac to drive you to the ruins for about US$3 (allow time, cabs are few). One reader report that a pickup truck drives from Pisac at 7 am to take locals to work. Minibuses occasionally go up this road and drop you off within a kilometer of the ruins, but they don’t have a set schedule.
The footpath to the site leaves town from the west side of the church. There are many crisscrossing trails, but a long as you generally head upward toward the terracing, you’ll get to the ruins without much difficulty.
Allow roughly two hours for the spectacular climb, This is a full day trip if you take your time and don’t rush things. Children and women meet you at the top with soft drinks, after climbing this far with the bottles, the kids deserve to make a few cents!
The ruins are on a hilltop with a gorge on either side. The western gorge (to the left of the hill as you climb up on the footpath) is the Rio Kitamayo gorge, to the right, or east, is the Rio Chongo valley, where the road ascends. Pisac is famous for its agricultural terracing, which sweeps around the south and cast flanks of the mountain in huge, graceful cirves, almost unbroken by steps, which would promete erosion, take up valuable cultivation space, require greater maintenance and make walking and working along the terraces more difficult. Instead, different levels of terracing are joined by diagonal flights of stairs made of flagstones set into the terrace walls. Above the terraces are cliff hanging footpaths, well defended by massive stone doorways, steep stairs and, at one point, a tunnel carved out of the rock. Walking along these paths is exciting the views are wonderful, and a pair of caracara hawks often accompanies you. This highly defensible site guards not only the Urubamba valley below, but also a pass into the jungle to the northeast. Pisac’s main religious center, near the top of the terraces, features extremely well built rooms and temples. New excavations occur sporadically. At the back (north end) of the ruins, a series of ceremonial baths was recently reconstructed, in the 1980s; this area was just a grassy hillside. Looking across the Kit mayo Gorge from the back of the ruins, you’ll see hundreds of holes honeycombing the cliff wall. These are Inca tombs that, unfortunately, were robbed before being examined by archaeologists. The site is large and warrants several hours of your time.
Tours in Pisac
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Cusco 4 Days - 3 Nights (US$ 345.00)
Includes: Cusco, Machupicchu, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Sacred Valley, Sacsayhuaman, -
Inti Raymi Cusco 5 Days - 4 Nights (US$ 457.00)
Includes: Cusco, Machupicchu, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Sacred Valley, Sacsayhuaman,
