DESCENDING through the clouds above Cusco, a unique landscape comes into view. Steep hills and long valleys blanketed with different shades of the most luscious green. Welcome to the Sacred Valley, home of the Inca kings, a truly magical place, once plundered, ransacked by savage European invaders. The Valley managed to keep many of its secrets safe from those beasts. Some of them have now been revealed for the more peaceful modern visitor to marvel at; but so many remain beyond our grasp. And that’s what makes this place so serenely mystical.

The Europeans who invaded here reshaped the city of Cusco in their own image, building a Spanish city on astonishingly strong Inca foundations.  After flattening the palace of Inca Amaru Qhala, they built a monastery on the site in 1595. Three years later, it was founded as the Seminary of San Antonio Abad by the sixth Bishop of Cusco, Monsignor Antonio de la Raya, to train Catholic priests. After serving as a monastery for hundreds of years, the palace is now Monasterio, without question the finest hotel in Cusco. And the ‘Best Hotel in South America’,  as voted by Conde Naste Traveller in 2007. Monasterio, part of the Orient Express group, is certainly a fine place to stay, in a unique setting. The staff are first class, and there are two excellent restaurants which serve Peruvian cuisine (think Alpaca, think Guinea Pig) with a contemporary twist. The rooms we stayed in were comfortable, if somewhat functional. If you can afford it, I would recommend booking one with a terrace overlooking the Main Courtyard. You could sit there all night in the atmospheric gloom and almost imagine you were back in the 17th century.


We only had a few hours in our packed schedule to look around Cusco, concentrating on the main square and its bizarre cathedral of Santo Domingo (above), filled with the curious iconography which represents the fusion between the old Inca religions and the Catholic church which took over from them. This is best illustrated by the enormous version of the ‘Last Supper’, complete with roasted guinea pig on the table! We found time to eat rodent ourselves at the first class Inka Grill, which on the opposite side of the main square from the cathedral. After that, we were on our way through the Sacred Valley.

We did not see as many Inca ruins as we would have liked on the way through the Sacred Valley, but we did go to Ollantaytambo and climbed the massive stone steps of the Temple Hill. It wasn’t too busy on this February day, although we were told that the site can become unbearably overcrowded during the European summer. It still baffles engineers to this day how the Incas constructed this monumental structure. As the Incas did elsewhere, the Temple Hill was clearly designed to lead to some point of worship at the highest point, where the Incas felt they could get as close as possible to the Gods themselves. Of course, as the numerous massive stone blocks lying around testify, they hadn’t completed the project by the time the Spanish invaded and finally defeated the Inca king, Manco, on this site in 1539. The conquerers did their best, of course, to erase the civilisation here, but they did it all under the watchful eye of the Inca God Viracocha, whose stern face appears on the side of the Pinkuylluna mountain opposite Temple Hill (above). If you look carefully at the picture above, you can see his angry eye glaring back at you.

Now for the real icing on the cake. After our day touring through the Sacred Valley, we stayed for two nights at the Sol y Luna resort, which is 1 km from the town of Urubamba. This is one of the best places I have ever stayed. The gardens here are just extraordinary - bursting with the colour as you can see from the picture above. According to the hotel, there are at least 30 species of rare birds which live here, including several kinds of hummingbirds. We had fun trying to capture them on cameras as they buzzed around outside our bungalow early in the morning.

The circular bungalows are splendid, in perfect harmony with their surroundings. In a rare departure from my usual style, I am going to quote directly from the hotel website now, because they describe them rather well:

Our bungalows or Muyus are circles in the sun, with light yellow walls, red-tiled roofs, and flower-rimmed verandahs. These bungalows are literally made from elements of the earth in the Valley. All bungalows are constructed with adobe, wood, stone and clay, typical building materials for this region. We used eucalyptus and nogal from the woods and forests surrounding the Sacred Valley and stones that rolled down the mountains near the hotel. Interiors are also decorated to reflect the Andean setting, with ceramic-tiled floors, high "sombrero chino" ceilings with wooden beams, decorative bands of stone work, and assorted curios and details from local artisans who worked on all aspects of the construction.

The other great feature of Sol y Luna is the ranch, which is home to a stable of Peruvian Paso horses. Visitors can go horse riding here. Or if you are not quite up to that, just sit in the picnic area and watch these magnificent animals playing around.

It was impossible to get more than a sample of the incredible beauty, history and natural wonders of the Sacred Valley in our few days here. It is one of the world’s great places, and needs to be preserved in all of its splendour. As the number of visitors grows, the lives of the Quechua-speaking people need to be preserved and made better. If the phrase ‘sustainable tourism’ means anything, it must be applied in the Sacred Valley.

We loved our time here, and will come back at some point for a much longer visit. I can feel the pull of the Inca Trail!

We flew from Lima to Cusco on Lan Peru, and stayed at the Hotel Monasterio and the Sol y Luna Lodge for two nights each.


Accomodation
****
Service
*****                                                                 
Dining
***                                             
Location
*****                                          



Accomodation
****
Service
*****                                                                 
Dining
***                                             
Location
*****