Getting High in Peru: Pisac, on the Road to Machu Picchu

Getting High in Peru: Pisac, on the Road to Machu Picchu

This is a Google Earth picture of the site with terracing

 

I'm zooming in with Google Earth. The site is to the top of the terracing

          Above, the roads to the site are to the right of the terraces.

Below, just north of the center is where we gather to climb up to the ruins

The students will be climbing all over the top of the site.

Approaching the parking area but you can see the terracing as on the Google maps.

Access path to the terraces and the site.

        Pisac is approximately 20 miles (32K) NE of Cusco where the Sacred Valley begins and is worth a visit. I’m not just referring to the current village with its market (Mercado), which has taken over the Plaza de Armas, but before you arrive in the village, you see spectacular agricultural terraces with channels to carry water and you see countless steps cut from mountain’s rock used to ascend and descend the terraces. Pisac is a pre-Inca site. The construction of some of the walls gives this away, but when the Incas took over, they did not destroy, but instead maintained and expanded Pisac. The Incas did develop a unique style of building walls, and they did improve on terrace building creating a micro-climate improving agricultural harvest. The rape and destruction of the various sites in Peru happened when the Spanish arrived. 

On site

Note the surrounding white capped mountains

The snowy mountains and village below

This access path is clearly visible on Google maps

  

As you look at the mountains surrounding Pisac, you will see snowy peaks that were important for the ancient peoples including the Inca. To raise crops in these higher elevations, you had to consider room to plant crops, the amount of water and sun light needed. Evidently, the ancient peoples considered the possibility of excessive wind and hail in constructing the terraces and also considered the amount of sun the terraces would receive. In addition, the Inca developed a variety of crops that grew well at different elevations. Long before today’s Monsanto, the Incas developed genetics for crops and in this valley had 17 varieties of corn for the various elevations and amounts of sun light.

 

 

Guide Explanation

 

Note that the two tall students are yawning--perhaps to clear the ears due to the elevation

One of these surrounding terraced mountains was given the name “Condor Mountain” since terraces cut from the mountain side form the shape of a condor. An adult condor can have a wingspread of ten feet and is a scavenger. It is God’s cleanup bird and the pre-Inca and the Inca associated the condor as the guardian spirit of the dead which would carry you on its wings to the world beyond this one. Watching them soar through the Andean air is a treat and it is easy to picture myself (or wishing) to be able to soar on the wings of a condor and not grow weary (Isaiah 40: 31)*. I could not see the condor on the mountainside but hope to look again next time. Once we arrived at the archaeological site though, we were at the wrong angle to see the “condor.” The terracing is very impressive with its graceful curves. One of the pictures shows blue tarps locating where conservation is happening. The terraces had to be maintained in the past and now in the present.   

The students will be climbing to the peak.

All smiles

            Pisac with its citadel guarded the Urubamba Valley, and an Inca road once snaked its way into this valley. Some pictures show the students climbing to still higher heights and enjoying it. As you climb up to the citadel, you should note the hundreds or thousands of holes in the cliff wall on the opposite side. The condor was the guardian of the dead bearing your soul into the afterlife; therefore, the dead were buried in cliffs accessible to the condor. Alas, speaking as an archaeologist, the tombs have been plundered of their grave goods and are now off limits to tourists as they should be.

Holes indicate tombs that have been broken into.

Close up of a tomb

A local girl is braiding the hair of one of the students.

 

Back in the village, a clay oven will bake our food.

Guinea pigs are a common delicacy

Guinea pig and potatoes--yum!

Don't forget to shop in the mercado/market

                *Isaiah 40:31 is well-known to many readers of the Bible, and sometimes I see the verse on the back of a runner’s tee shirt.  “…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  The Hebrew word translated as “eagle” is nesher, and it can mean any large bird of prey, such as the vulture and condor. Vultures are numerous in the Middle East; it was guardian over the pharaohs, which is why Pharaoh Tut had one on his royal crown. Here in Peru, Isaiah 40: 31 could then read “They will soar on the wings like condors ….” 

Paz y Shalom. Neal Bierling