Andahuaylíllas and Tipón

Today my group got to travel to some areas outside of Cusco, beginning with a bumpy van ride to Andahuaylíllas, the site of a church built in the 1500s. Although we werent allowed to take pictures inside, trust me when I say that this church deserves its nickname as the Sistine of the Andes. Despite its humble, colonial-looking outside, the inside was filled with hand-painted frescos, elaborate murals, and 6 huge oil paintings artfully done in a very museum-worthy European style. However, what was most interesting about the church was that it was built and decorated entirely by indigenous Peruvians. So what stuck out the most during our private tour were the hidden remnants of Inca religion that the artists had snuck into the creation of this masterpiece: the giant gold sun placed at the top of the altar, to help the indigenous Peruvians feel comfortable when praying towards the large statue of Jesus right below, and the countless mirrors lining the curves of the metalwork, reminding the Peruvians of the reflective glory of the sun, even while standing inside the dark church. What our tour guide neglected to tell us, but of which I was reminded by Jaquelis brother during dinner, was that the church itself was actually built on top of the ruins of an Inca temple- an explicit message from the Spanish that they were here to dominate everything about Inca civilization.

After stopping in a town filled with only families who owned bakeries (and getting our 5 soles worth of delicious freshly made bread), we headed up a treacherously thin and windy road to Tipón, the site of an Inca agricultural center. The site was full of open grassy terraces, and there were canals of water flowing down the mountainside that have been running from a natural spring since the height of the Inca empire. Several members of my group and I split off during our lunch break to hike high above the terraces to see more ruins and get an even better look at the already gorgeous view from 11,200 feet. Though hiking was extremely difficult, and we were all winded by the time we reached the top, the trek was worth it. And realizing that we were standing in what was once a bustling, integral part of Inca civilization made the moment just that much more breathtaking.