Ollantaytambo, the Inca fortress that almost stopped Pizarro and his Conquistadors in their tracks. Manco Inca lead the defense and was a brilliant general, he waited until Pizarro, his Spaniards and their Native allies were close to the fortress walls and then flooded the fields behind them to turn them into a quagmire so they could not escape, then he showed his main force and wiped out most of the natives and many of the conquistadors who were saved largely because of their horses. The stone work is incredible as are the views and you can see why this fortress was unassailable.
We went up the back staircase to the Temple of the Sun, the hitching post has been destroyed by the Spanish and then I climbed up to the highest ramparts to get a spectacular view of the whole fortress. Manco Inca rode a captured Spanish horse which he had taught himself to ride, on top of the battlements to prove to his army that the Conquistadors were just men and not gods.
Ollantaytambo is the last fortress before you can catch the train that follows the river to Machu Pichu which is deeper into the Andes.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.You are going to inspire me to go dig out my 10,000 plus photos of all the Mayan sites I've been to in Mexico! LOL Thank you for sharing these!
SkotlandSkye
Level 8
Aug 13, 2018
1
Oh I've got that too but I assume most people have had easier access to Aztec and Mayan sites in Mexico so I won't be sharing those. I keep meaning to visit Tikal but it continues to elude me, something else always comes up but Palenque was nice to visit if less dramatic.
You can catch the train to Machu Picchu from Ollantaytambo, it leaves about 8am but if you are on the tour to the Lost City you will probably leave from Cusco about 5:30 which makes for a very long day, plus you miss all the really cool stuff in the Valle Sagrado.
Surfpirate
Level 9
Aug 13, 2018
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