Viaje al Peru : Exploring Ancient Sites near Calca

The Sacred Valley of the Incas

High in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, the Urubamba River has carved out a deep, fertile valley. With an abundance of water and fertile bottomland soils, the Sacred Valley of the Incas was, and still is one of Peru's most important agricultural areas. Corn is the dominant crop, but there are many other crops, including cabbage, carrots, peas, potatoes, and squash.

Centuries-old Inca terraces at Urcos, still being used for farming

The ancient people built many stone structures in this valley--some for ritual or military purposes, others for housing royalty and their servants, and also some buildings for food storage (better preservation in the higher, drier locations far above the river). Today there are perhaps hundreds of ancient ruins from Inca and pre-Inca civilizations. We took an excursion to explore some of these near Calca.

Calca viewed from up the side valley

Round temple and walls at Urcos, a pre-Inca site

Half an hour down the valley from Pisac is the pleasant, small town of Calca, whose name means "construction of stone." There we found a guide and visited several interesting sites, starting in the main valley bottom and working our way high up the side valley.

Roger explains how this sticky plant resin was used in the mortar

Roger, our guide, explains the story of the toad face and channel carved into this big rock: the Princess and the pee! According to the story, during the ceremony, the princess would perch atop the big rock, pee into the carved channel, and if her pee reached the end of the channel (the toad's mouth), this would signify an abundant and good year for the community.