Ollantaytambo is a pretty town located in the Sacred Valley. It was originally a large Incan city, and some citizens are still living in houses once owned by Incan nobility. However it also has many colonial and modern buildings.
This is the 10 window temple.
This is the temple of the sun.
It was made of huge blocks with tiny little blocks fit in between.
This building had lots of niches for storing sacred things.
The terraces at Ollantaytambo were likely planned out to look pretty.
But they were also important for farming to feed all of the people in the large city.
The terraces were much bigger than they look.
There were floating steps on the walls to help people walk between them.
They also continued around the corner of the main valley.
These are storehouses built on the mountain across from the temples. They were built high on the hill to prevent enemies from stealing grain and to keep them cool so that the grain did not spoil. They also had gravel underneath for drainage, which allowed grain and potatoes to be stored for up to 2 years.
The canal for irrigation was really large to support all of the farming. They also run through all of the streets of the city.
There were also many really elaborate fountains.
