At 3762m, Chinchero was the highest point Marcela and I had reached yet. The views were simply stunning and the sky above us was full of energizing sunshine.

Potatoes used to be the principal crop of these ruins. The Incan peoples knew that each level of altitude had a slightly different micro-climate and experimented with growing different varieties of crops at each level in an attempt to grow high-quality produce and maximize production. They designed these levels after observing Mother Nature.

(Photo credit: my friend Marcela)(Photo credit: my friend Marcela)

Ice cold water runs under this HUGE rock! We were thirsty at this point.

Although we did not want to leave such a peaceful park, we headed back to the village of Chinchero where we wandered through piles of intricately designed and made woven textiles, an important part of the local economy. The wools were incredibly soft to the touch and had been coloured with all sorts of naturally-existing ‘inks’, such as purple corn, to obtain vivid colours. 

Most of the people selling were vendors, but this friendly señor (below) was carving a dried squash on site, a time consuming process that leaves the dried vegetable extremely durable. Marcela and I enjoyed chatting with him about his art form and life in the Peruvian Andes, la increíblemente hermosa sierra peruana. If I had more money, I would have bought more than one of his intricately carved pieces.