TRAVEL SPECIAL .....Inca Outing

TRAVEL .... Inca Outing





From Lima, the city of balconies, to the majestic Machu Picchu, Peru is an endless revelation

To reach a place almost diametrically on the other side of the globe from Mumbai, one needs to fly almost 24 hours straight and adjust the circadian rhythm dramat ically, given the 11-hour time difference.

But within a few hours of landing in Lima, the capital of Peru, the arduous journey is forgotten.

Home to some of the oldest civilisa tions of South America, Peru is most fa mous for the Incas, even though some settlements pre-date them. Machu Pic chu, the most famous city of the Incas and one of the seven new wonders of the world, is on many bucket lists, but head ing straight there would be an injustice to the rich history and culture of this beau tiful country.

We started off by exploring Lima, the city of balconies. The historic centre of the city, Plaza de Armas, is home to several colonial buildings from the days of the Spanish. Most buildings have charming, enclosed balconies in Renaissance, baroque and neoclassical architectural styles. The old city centre, which has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site, is a throwback to the grand days and dark truths of Spanish colonisation, which saw violent suppression of the indigenous people.

The Spanish conquerors left no one in doubt of their dominance -churches and town halls of most city squares were built over razed Inca buildings. While our guide talked of these historic events in a rather matter-of-fact way, he also led us to a large stone that seemed out of place among the neat colonial buildings. It was the stone of Taulichusco, the last Inca mayor before the conquistadors arrived.

Mouthful of Chifa

After the history lesson and a view of the lively change-of-guard ceremony at the nearby Presidential Palace, we moved on to gastronomic indulgences at Chinatown. Chinese immigrants came to Peru in the late 19th century and have blended into the local population, but their rich culinary tradition is flourishing.Called Chifa, it is a unique blend of Cantonese and Peruvian cuisines and enjoys huge popularity in Lima. While Peruvian cuisine is in vogue across the world, with dishes like ceviche and superfoods like quinoa being touted by every gourmet worth her salt, Chifa was a welcome discovery.

We ended the day watching the surfers and the sunset over the Pacific Ocean, from our vantage point by the La Marina lighthouse at Miraflores, one of the poshest districts of Lima. The next day we left the ocean behind us and ventured into the famed Peruvian Andes. Our first stop was the town of Cusco, the erstwhile capital of the Inca empire that spanned a region that now covers parts of five countries besides Peru -Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia, Chile and Argentina. Cusco is the base for visiting some of the most famous ruins like the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

While Cusco town also has the familiar main square with Spanish buildings and churches, it is the several Inca sites surrounding it that gave us our first true introduction to the ancient civilisation. Sacsaywaman, Wayllabamba and Ollantaytambo archaeological sites derive their names from Quechua, the ancient language of the Incas. This musical, tongue-twisting language was banned by colonial rulers in the 18th century, but is now undergoing a revival, with Peru recognising it as one of its official languages.

The symmetry and scale of the buildings catch your eye as soon as you enter an Inca site. Each settlement is neatly divided into separate areas for its different inhabitants and their different ways of life, with the buildings housing the priests distinct from those for the commoners. Neat terraces for farming are cut into the hillside, while large temples demonstrate the vast astronomical knowledge of the people. An agricultural society, their study of the stars and skies helped them make the best of the changing seasons. If this wasn't impressive enough, consider the fact that the Incas used no wheels or cart animals in the construction, and that all the walls were made by interlocking the stones without using mortar or any binding agent.

The Peruvian Andes have an average elevation of 4,000 m (13,000 feet), and for a majority of Indians used to near-sea level, it takes some time to adjust to these altitudes. It didn't help that the natural beauty took (even more of ) our breath away! As we hiked among the hills from one Inca site to another, we passed herds of llamas and alpacas. While these are as common there as sheep would be in other parts of the world, the woolly animals are a delightful diversion for tourists. Llamas and alpacas are close cousins, and while the former is more well-known outside the continent and in popular culture, it is the alpaca that is more prized for its wool, which is supposed to be softer and warmer than sheep's, and hypoallergenic too.We visited a women's weaving cooperative in one of the villages where we were able to get great bargains on alpaca wool garments that were retailing for several times the price at fancy boutiques in larger towns.

Another use of the versatile alpaca came to light later that evening, when we sat down for a meal of alpaca meat -tough but delicious. Any pang of guilt we might have felt at eating the fluffy animals was washed down with generous helpings of Inca Cola, a sickeningly sweet concoction that enjoys great popularity among the locals. The Peruvian predilection for cute animals does not end there; one of the greatest delicacies is the guinea pig, which is stuffed and sold at restaurants and spit-roasted with herbs at street corners.

After visiting so many wonderful Inca sites, we wondered if Machu Picchu, our final destination, would still hold the same amount of interest for us as it did when we set off. There are several ways to reach Machu Picchu town -the humble hiking trails, regular passenger trains, or the super-luxurious Hiram Bingham train that can set you back by as much as $1,000 and is named after the American explorer who “rediscovered“ Machu Picchu and made its existence public to the world in 1911.

Machu Picchu town is overrun by tourists, restaurants and the all-important massage parlours for the hundreds like us who had spent the better part of the week hiking. An early-morning bus from the town took us up to the Unesco World Heritage Site the next day.

When we reached the top, a thick mist was covering part of the Machu Picchu valley, but it was beautiful nonetheless.The swirling mists around the jagged peaks alternately hid and unveiled different parts of the ancient settlement. Then the sun came out and the valley lay in its full glory. The “Lost City of the Incas“ had finally revealed itself to us. The panoramic view was breathtaking. It is not just the scale of the Inca settlement with its massive stones and ambitious layout, but also its combination with the mountains around that unique, self-contained valley, which takes you by surprise.

We then wound downwards with our guide to hear the story of each of the important structures of Machu Picchu, including the Temples of the Sun, the Moon and the Condor; the living quarters, warehouses and the beautifully terraced fields.It was a perfect setting to conclude our Peruvian adventure -the endless Andes Mountains that had accompanied us throughout our journey were fittingly baring their best-kept secret as we neared its end.

Tanaz Makujina Sep 03 2017 : The Economic Times (Mumbai)