Aerial View, Mountains of Nazca

Rolling Hills of Nazca Province

Pisac Ruins
Sacred Valley of the Incas

Pisac Ruins
Sacred Valley of the Incas

Pisac Ruins
Sacred Valley of the Incas

Pisac Ruins
Sacred Valley of the Incas

"The Incas were master architects, masons, and stone cutters. They were known to fit carved stones so close together that the mortar was almost invisible. Blocks of stone had to be cut, ground, and polished until the outer surfaces locked perfectly. Today, it is still uncertain how the Incas cut stone. Most buildings required vasts amounts of labor, and the Inca had no wheels, cranes, or lifting devices."

Pre-Incan Burial Ground
Outside Cuzco

Bananas in Manu

Village in Manu Province
Manu, Peru

Festival Performer
Cuzco

Festival Performers
Cuzco

Deep-Fried Guinea Pig and Chicken
Cuzco

Inca Roca Street
Cuzco

Inca Girl
Cuzco

Inca Ruins
Terraces of Pumatallis
Ollantaytambo

"In 1536, this settlement was the site of the Inca's greatest military victory over the invading Spaniards. Today, it is one of the only towns in Peru that retains its original Inca walls and street grid, dominated by long, ancient stone walls that once divided groups of homes around communal courtyards. An imposing set of stone terraces (from which the Inca assaulted their Spanish invaders with slingshots and arrows), capped by six enigmatic slabs of pink granite, looms above the town." -National Geographic

Inca Architecture
Ollantaytambo

"The Incas were master architects, masons, and stone cutters. They were known to fit carved stones so close together that the mortar was almost invisible. Blocks of stone had to be cut, ground, and polished until the outer surfaces locked perfectly. Today, it is still uncertain how the Incas cut stone. Most buildings required vasts amounts of labor, and the Inca had no wheels, cranes, or lifting devices."