Rock Climbing, Zip Lining, and Rappelling in the Sacred Valley

Latin America is an adrenaline junky’s paradise.  🙂 Today I spent 8 hours rock climbing, zip lining, and rappelling.   First we spent three hours climbing 1,312 feet to breathtaking views.  From there we had 1.25 miles of screaming ziplines, followed by a 328 foot rappel.

Our beast of a mountain

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Rock Climbing

The first few steps

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Tiny wire bridge to cross. Two hands hold the wire above. Two feet walk across said bridge.

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One hand and one foot also works 🙂

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I'm sure glad I wasn't picking a harness induced wedgie when this picture was taken

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Onward ho to the west we go

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Zip lining

There were three ziplines we went through.  The first one I thought I was going to pee my pants.  The second one was super long and I didn’t weigh enough for me to be able to make it all the way across without getting stuck, so I had to be strapped to our guide and go with him.  He did all the work controlling speed and breaking, which allowed me to enjoy the amazing views as we flew by.  The third one I didn’t slow down my speed in time and ended up slamming into the rubber break at the end.  Whoops.

Getting proper pre-flight instructions

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Bon Voyage amiga!

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Rappelling

The third and final part of the adventure was rappelling 328 feet off the side of the cliff.

Ancient Ruins

Walking around ancient history is such an awesome feeling, but it also makes me realize how insignificant I am in this world.  Today I visited three more historical sites, which usually go unnoticed by the typical tourist.

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Andahuaylillas

Andahuaylillas is a church known as the Sistine Chapel of the Andes.  The entire church is covered with beautiful frescos and gold-leafed wooden carvings.  Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed inside the church and there is currently major restoration work being done.

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Pikillaqta

Pikillaqta is a walled complex from the pre-Inca Wari culture of 500-900 AD, which pre-dates Machu Picchu by hundreds of years.  Pikillaqta means “flea city” in Quecha.  It is unclear whether or not the Wari culture used this, or another name.  The compound contains hundreds of rooms and upon first excavation some at this site were found to contain human remains.  Thus, it is believed that Pikillaqta was used as a ritual facility for the practice of ancestor worship.

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Tipon

Tipon is famously known for its hydraulic engineering system.  Through a series of completely underground channels water is collected from the surrounding glaciers and is distributed throughout a series of smaller irrigation channels.  Despite fluctuations in glacial melting and weather, the water volume through these channels has remained constant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year since Inca times.  It is not entirely clear how the Incas accomplished this engineering and physics feat, however, it is believed that there are underground storage boxes which collect the glacial waters and distribute it evenly throughout the system of channels.

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