Temple of the Sun
Six giant pink stones.
Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · PsamatheM — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PsamatheM — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yupanasimi — CC BY-SA 4.0
A town and archaeological site at the western end of the Sacred Valley, about 2,800 metres up, once a royal estate of the emperor Pachacuti and, during the Spanish conquest, a stronghold of Manco Inca, leader of the Inca resistance, who defeated the Spanish here in one battle. Above the town, steep stone terraces climb the slope to the temple sector, where the «Temple of the Sun» has six huge pink stones set side by side, brought from a quarry on the mountain across the river. From the top you see the town, the valley and the mountains, with Inca granaries on the opposite slope. The town itself is rare: its narrow streets and the stone water channels running through them still follow the original Inca plan, and people live in houses built on Inca walls, earning it the name «living Inca town». Ollantaytambo is the main train station for Machu Picchu, so many stay the night before the trip. The site is on the Cusco tourist ticket; the climb up the terraces is tiring, so come in the morning before the buses.
Six giant pink stones.
Climbing above town.
Stone water channels.
Ollantaytambo town, about 72 km north-west of Cusco; a Machu Picchu train station
It is a good option: it is the main train station and lower than Cusco, so it is easier to acclimatise and catch an early train. You can see the fortress the same day.