Chinchero-Inca trail and ruins, a market and some really big hills

Chinchero is a village located a little ways outside of Cusco, Besides the weavers, a number of other things in this village are worth seeing, such as:

• The ancient Inca trail from Cusco to Machu Picchu runs through town.
• A cathedral is build on top of some Inca ruins. You can see some of the ruins that have been excavated, as well as play soccer or have a grand picnic on some terraces.
• The Chinchero market is a thriving farmers market, serving the needs of both tourists and locals alike.

Here are some pictures from our stop there.

This is a little bit of the ancient Inca trail that connected Cusco to Macchu Picchu. You can still make the whole trek by foot. It was spaced out to have a village or place to stop every after a day of walking. The trip would take several days to make the journey.

It was Sunday, and everyone was dressed in their Sunday best to go to church. A part of the Inca Trail that runs through town.

The whole village is on top of a hill, so everything is going either up or down. No more complaining about the hills in Atlanta.

Some of the ruins of the Inca temple.

These terraces are built into the side of the mountains in the area where the Inca’s did their farming. The levels give micro climates, with a change in temperature every terrace or two, allowing for wide range of planting options.

We are on one of the terraces. This picture gives some perspective to see how big they are.

A view of the market in Chinchero. The market is large, as you can see from the picture. (This picture encompasses maybe a quarter of the market.)

Dianna is bargaining for alpaca socks. Some Canadians we met mentioned how warm they were, and how they got a great deal at this market, so we had to get some.

The giant corn in Peru is amazing compared to what we have in the states, and from what I’ve read, it takes some work to grown. (Which is probably why it won’t end up in my garden.)

When you get behind the tourists, you can see what the locals are coming to the market for, such as freshly butchered meat (or the corn shown above)

These photos are hosted on Flickr, where you can see all of them.