Sacred Valley Day Loop #4: Ollantaytambo

After Moray, we continued our tour through the Sacred Valley to stop #4: Ollantaytambo. You can see our path marked in green on the map below.

Ollantaytambo is a town that has its origins in 600 CE, or perhaps even before the Common Era, as some sources suggest. Here is a timeline of important events that tell the story of Ollantaytambo:

--600 - 1,000 CE: Settlements were built here by the Huari civilization.

--Around 1450, the Inca emperor Pachacuti / Pachacútec took control of Ollantaytambo. Under Inca rule, the town grew dramatically. As the town is located on the Inca Trail, it was used as a control point for travelers journeying to Machu Picchu.

--1536: Remember Manco Inca (the "Sapa Inca," or Inca monarch, of the Neo-Inca State, the fragment of the Inca Empire that remained after Spanish conquest in the 1530's? He defeated Spanish aggressors at Ollantaytambo during this year, although ultimately he still had to withdraw to Vilcabamba, the capital of his Neo-Inca rump state.

 Sources:

• https://www.perurail.com/blog/history-of-the-town-of-ollantaytambo/
• https://www.peruforless.com/blog/ollantaytambo/#:~:text=of%20true%20charisma.-,History,Inca%20nobles%20and%20agrarian%20laborers