The sacred valley of the inca. the sacred valley, located in peru, was the heart of the inca empire. formed by the urubamba river, it generally runs east to west from pisac to ollantaytambo. best known for its importance in growing maize and sitting high in the andes mountains, the valley ranges approximately 7,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. Pisac. pisac is home to one of the largest inca ruins in the sacred valley. it is located approximately 20 miles from cusco. its poisiton was important in defending against attacks to cusco and the sacred valley coming from the south. it also protected a path that led to the rainforest in the east.
By the time the spanish arrived to cusco on november 15, 1533, the inca empire was in the middle of a bitter civil war. two brothers, huascar and atahualpa were fighting to control the empire. backed by the nobility, huascar controlled cusco. seen as a stronger military strategist, atahualpa controlled quito in the north. The sacred valley of the incas sits at an altitude of 2,050m 3,000m (6,730ft 9,800ft) an hour north of the capital, though of course that varies across the 62 miles (100km) of the valley. the mountains that line the valley also reach an awful lot higher, with the mighty sahuasiray (5,818m 19,088ft) and veronica (5,893m 19,334ft) dominating the. Geography of the sacred valley. surrounded by the high andes on all sides, the sacred valley sits at an elevation that never falls below 6,700 feet and routinely rises well above 9,500 feet. at that altitude, the air is thin and can create challenges for those who aren't fully acclimated. The sacred valley of the incas is a valley of the urubamba river. the valley starts 15 km north of cusco and stretches about 100 km between two then important incan cities – cusco city and machu picchu. the place had a special meaning to the incas as the sacred river of urubamba represented a reflection of the cosmic milky way in their mythology.
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