6io The National Geographic Magazine 



to high altitudes gradually, first remain- 

 ing a week at seven thousand feet, then 

 stopping at twelve thousand, and finally 

 reaching nineteen thousand two hundred 

 feet without difficulty. 



From Lake Titicaca we journeyed by 

 rail to Sicuani, then the terminus of the 

 road which is now well on to Cuzco ; but 

 when I visit Peru again, I shall journey 

 once more by coach beyond Sicuani. By 

 this method one can better study the life 

 of the natives in this most romantic part 

 of the Andean country. In a recent 

 story* I told of our journey over the old 

 Inca highway, and in the future will 

 write of life in Cuzco, the ancient Mecca 

 of the New World, f 



"the sweetest valley in peru" 



While in Cuzco we decided to make a 

 journey to the Valley of Yucay, to visit 

 the old fortresses of Ollantaytambo and 

 Pisac. This is one of my most delight- 

 ful memories of Andean travel. It was 

 in the Valley of Yucay, "the sweetest 

 valley in Peru," that the Incas are sup- 

 posed to have built their summer palaces. 

 We made this journey in the saddle, with 

 only our blankets and saddle-bags, un- 

 hampered by guide or cargo mule. Start- 

 ing out very early one June morning, we 

 rode over the rocky streets of Cuzco, the 

 city of all others in the Americas rich in 

 its legends and history, its charming situ- 

 ation, and unpleasant odors. The road 

 led up to a hilltop where we had a com- 

 prehensive view of the red-roofed town, 

 with its many church towers and ancient 

 plazas, overshadowed by the Fortress of 

 Sacsahuaman, which looks down on the 

 bolsone, the mountain valley, in which 

 Cuzco lies. Facing in the opposite direc- 

 tion, we saw our trail leading to the. Cor- 

 dillera, the same snowy chain we had 

 known as the Bolivian Andes. Now we 

 were many miles to the north. 



All day we traveled over the high 

 plateau, at times on a trail, again over a 

 portion which still remains of the Inca 

 highway, formerly connecting Cuzco 

 with Quito. The Inca road was formed 

 of rough stones set into the ground, bor- 



dered by low stone walls, through which 

 passages were cut at intervals to carry 

 off the water. As between Sicuani and 

 Cuzco, we met many pilgrims and llama 

 trains, and now there were burros heav- 

 ily laden with produce from the Valley 

 of Yucay and from the more tropical 

 valleys beyond. We had food in our 

 saddle-bags, and went without water, ob- 

 serving that the passing brooks served 

 for all village household purposes. In 

 the late afternoon we reached Chinchero, 

 where there are Inca ruins near a few 

 dilapidated huts and an old Spanish 

 chapel. Riding on, we faced the Andes, 

 and were wondering where Yucay could 

 be hidden, when we suddenly reached 

 the edge of the plateau and saw the 

 canyon-like valley four thousand feet 

 below. 



One who has stood on the heights 

 overlooking the Yosemite Valley, in Cal- 

 ifornia, can form a mental picture of 

 Yucay as seen from this elevated table 

 land. Through the valley flows the 

 River Yucay, which we had known above 

 Cuzco as the Vilcanota, and which, far- 

 ther on, as it flows to the king of rivers, 

 is called the Ucayali. It is the longest 

 formative branch of the Amazon. As 

 in the Yosemite Valley, fertile banks 

 mark the shores of the river, but instead 

 of waterfalls the steep mountain walls 

 of Yucay are covered in many places with 

 graceful terraces of the ancients. Broad 

 at the base, narrowing as they rise, these 

 terraces are one thousand feet in height. 

 So the Inca's subjects gained area for 

 agriculture, irrigating by means of aque- 

 ducts which started at the verge of the 

 snows. 



Although the floor of the valley is ele- 

 vated eight thousand feet above the sea, 

 it is so sheltered that the climate is mild 

 and delightful. The coast, sierras, and 

 highlands of Peru are without rain or 

 natural verdure. It is as though Nature 

 gave her all to the forest-covered eastern 

 slope of the Andes. It is only where 

 rivers break through the mountain walls 

 and cross the deserts that the barren 

 country to the west of the Cordillera 



* Published in the April, 1908, number of the National Geographic Magazine. 

 fTo be published in an early number of this Magazine. 



