My Travels In Peru

The Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley is actually part of the Amazon River system. The snow-covered peak of Nevado Mismi, which reaches an altitude of 5,600 metres above sea level, is the origin of the mighty Amazon River. The water of this snow-capped peak, located near the city of Arequipa, eventually reaches the Apurímac, which then merges with the Urubamba to form the Ucayali. The latter then merges with the Marañón River, about 100 km upstream from Iquitos; and at this juncture it takes on the name Amazon.

The Urubamba River Valley, also known as the Sacred Valley, is located just north of Cusco. Its river flows in a northwesterly direction and passes by the mountain on which the ancient city of Machupicchu is located, at the northern end of the valley. Sacred Valley was the name used by the Incas and perpetuated by the Spaniards. My daughter asked, "Why is it called the Sacred Valley?" We had just arrived when she asked me the question, and I didn't know the answer. But, after spending one week here, it's clear.

To explain my revelation, it's important to know that the Andean belief system has three levels of existence: the upper realm of the gods (Hanan Pacha), the middle one of human life (Qay Pacha), and the lower one of the dead (Uqu Pacha), represented by the condor, puma, and snake, respectively. High mountain peaks rise from the middle level of human existence to almost the upper realm of the most powerful gods – the sun and the moon – with whom they can communicate. So, mountains are sacred spirits with a direct line of communication to the divinities. They are the intermediaries in the same way as saints are in some faiths.

Manco Capac and Mama Oclla started the Incan dynasty and reigned as both brother and sister, and husband and wife. If legend is to be believed, they were born from the love consummated between the Sun and the Moon during a solar eclipse, when the earth was in darkness. For this reason, they insisted that the Sun and Moon would be the supreme divinities, even though Viracocha, the creator god, was the oldest Andean god. He was the creator of all realms of existence, but, rather than replacing him, the Inca demoted him to third place. Below him were Pachamama and Pachatata, mother earth and father earth, respectively. 

Just like other ancient cultures around the world, Andeans had a large pantheon of gods. Other deities included: the god of the sea, the god of thunder and lightning, and gods for other natural phenomena. When the Spaniards conquered them, they just added more: the holy trinity. But even the Jesuits couldn't eradicate the worship of Pachamama, which carries on to this day in the Andes.

Towering over both sides of the Urubamba Valley are seven snow-covered peaks, guarding it like sentinels. To Andean people, they are more than mere mountains because within them reside the Apus – the mountain spirits. That's why to them the word Apu means both mountain and mountain spirit. They don't differentiate between the two. The Apus of the Sacred Valley are seven: Verónica, Chocón, Sahuasiray, Pisac, Ausangate, Umantay, and Salcantay. 

Seven is an important number in Andean culture because it's the sum of the four cardinal points and the three realms of existence. This is similar to the number three in the Christian religions because of the Holy Trinity, the three wise men, and the three realms of the afterlife (purgatory, heaven, and hell), for example. We even have the expression, 'everything comes in threes.' So, the number seven adds another dimension of sanctity to the Sacred Valley.

And this, my dear daughter, is why the Incas, and the people before them, called the Urubamba Valley the Sacred Valley.

The mountain spirits, or lesser gods, were not always pleased, so, the locals tried to appease them with offerings. They prayed to them for good weather and good harvests, as most agrarian societies around the world did. Only their names differed from one part of the world to another. 

In the Andes, the prayers and supplications were supplemented with offerings, such as: chicha, coca leaves, and sometimes, young men and women. On special occasions, the Inca emperors themselves would offer the gods the finest chicha in the empire, made by the women of the Acllahuasi (the temple of virgins). The offering was made in the form of a toast, so, he got to drink the exquisite chicha made for the gods. Being emperor had its benefits!

When I trekked to Machupicchu on the Inca Trail with my guide Enrique, I had built a small inukshuk on the side of the trail (see chapter on Inca Trail).  While I had built it simply for its artistic value, he wanted me to make it an offering to the mountain spirits that surrounded us. That's why he had insisted that I place coca leaves on top of it; and when I did, he covered them with a small stone to keep them from blowing away. At that time I went along with it to humour him. Now I understood its significance: the coca leaves changed the otherwise ordinary statue into an offering. The stones themselves were not worthy of a gift to the Apus. Even though he is a Christian, he has not abandoned the ancient beliefs that the Spaniards had tried so hard to eradicate.

Now, I also understand why Juanita (the Ice Maiden) was sacrificed to the spirits of Mount Ampato more than 500 years ago (see chapter on Juanita). The people wanted to appease the volcano god so that it wouldn't erupt and destroy the crops and people around it. One young woman was sacrificed for the presumed benefit of the entire community. Whether or not the Apu was placated is not known. What we do know is that the frozen corpse of that young woman is providing useful information to today's anthropologists. So, her sacrifice may not have been totally in vain.

The Incas built towns and cities all along the valley, from Pikillacta to Machupicchu. In some places they destroyed the old towns that they had conquered and built new ones in their image: places such as Ollantaytambo and Pisac. The former was the city of the Tambos and the latter the city of the Cuyos, both ancient tribes subjugated in the early days of empire building.

The Urubamba Valley was also the empire's 'bread basket'. It enjoys a mild climate and sufficient rainfall to make it one of the most fertile places in Peru. And with the river snaking through it, there is never a shortage of irrigation water. Everything along the valley is lush green. Corn has always been the most plentiful crop, with potatoes a close second. This combination of good climate and fertile land gave the Inca nobility impetus to build numerous towns here. In these places they enjoyed a comfortable life, away from the drudgery of the imperial capital, at least some of the time. To them, viewing the valley from their cosy palaces atop steep cliffs must have felt like paradise. They were in seventh heaven.

During our stay in Cusco we paid homage to Apus Verónica and Pisac, from the ruins of the cities that the Incas had built to honour them. We also visited the Inca experimental farm in Moray, and the nearby Salineras de Maras, where they continue to harvest salt from a mineral spring on the side of the mountain, in the same way that has been done for millennia. These will be the subjects of subsequent chapters.