After arriving in Cusco we were met by our guide Sheila and driver Luis and whisked off to the Sacred Inca Valley of Pisaq. The Sacred Valley is rimmed by tall mountains up to 17,000 ft and was a very important agricultural site for the Incan people near their capital of Cusco. The Incans dwelled and farmed through an elaborate system of terracing until the Spaniards forced them to leave their dwellings and live in the valley floor around the year 1538. The ingenuity of their systems is amazing with some of the terraces over 20 yards wide. Common housing was provided for the population as well as a separate housing area near the temples for the chiefs. This is also the largest Incan burial site with over 5000 graves built into caves in the side of the mountain.
