Retaining Walls of Pisac

The last feature of our tour to the Sacred Valley was a visit to the retaining walls of Pisac. Again the structures are built high up on the hillsides,and constructed of close fitting blocks.

(Left - our first sighting of some of the Inca buildings high on the hillside)

(Right - we start the walk up to the entrance of the walls)

(Left - from part way upthe climb, this is the view down into the Sacred Valley)

(Right -the walking track winds around the hillside,and you frequently pass through gate structures, which could be closed in the event of attack. )



(Left - our intrepid reporter smiles for the camera - still trying to regain his breath after the climb)

(Right - from this vantage point one is able to look down on the Sacred Valley and the town of Pisac)


(Left - the retaining walls.The walls were constructed for a number of purposes - agriculture, soil preservation, and also for military protection)

(Right - another view of the retaining walls, showing clearly the flatness of the land achieved in the terracing)


(Left - the narrow walking track winds through another gate which can be closed in the event of attack)

(Right - a view back to where we had walked from)

(Left - walking along part of the trail. Note the close fitting stone walls to the right, and also the lack of a safety rail on the valley side)




(Right - we make oneof the many climbs of stairs that appear right throughout the site. Again notice that there is NO hand rail on the drop side. Fortunately the steep stair climbs were interspersed with relatively flat areas, so one could recover their breath! )

(Left - here the walking trail gets a bit narrow, and there is NO guard rail, so it is "walk carefully and close")




(Right - Claes and Selvey pause on oneof the narrow parts of the trail)

(Left - the trail not only has door structures that can be closed in the event of attack, but also the tunnel passes through narrow tunnels. Here is oneof them)





(Right - from the vantage point we again look down on the town of Pisac, and also more of the terraces)


(Left - our group pauses beside yet another structure of the Inca close fitting stones.Notice the great variety in the shapes of the stones used in the building! But they still all fit precisely.)

(Right - more terraced steps on the mountain side)

(Left - negotiating another of the steep and rough steps)



(Right - there aremany vantage points which could be used by the Inca lookouts)

(Left - where ever one looks there are Inca ruins - the problembeing that they are generally much higher or lower than you, requiring some form of a climb or descent. The problem with that follows the old principle of "what goes up must come down")





(Right - the view up the valley)

(Left - our adventurer with a view across the valley)







(Right - self and volunteer Liz perched on oneof the many sets of steps - this time coming down!!)




(Right - our last lookout, from this vantage point we can look out across the valley and down intoPisac.)