Ollantaytambo

Human occupation on the site may date back as far as 3,500 years . Some buildings here date to well before the time of the Incas, who conquered it in the mid-15th century. In and around the town of Ollantaytambo contains evidence of settlements of the Huari civilization (600 – 1000 AD). The Fortress of Pumamarka, a military citadel, controlled access to Ollantaytambo using what later became known as the Inca Trail. Around the mid-15th century, the Inca emperor Pachacuti conquered and razed a pre-existing town of Ollantaytambo. The town and the nearby region were incorporated into his personal estate. The emperor rebuilt the town with sumptuous constructions and undertook extensive works of terracing and irrigation in the Urubamba Valley; the town provided lodging for the Inca nobility, while the terraces were farmed by yanakuna, retainers of the emperor. …