Machu Colca in Urubamba, Peru
There are other “Machus” than Machu Picchu. “Machu” simply means “old” in the Peruvian language Quechua, and there are many other old, beautiful places to visit in the Sacred Valley, north of Cusco. Machu Colca is one of them. Also called Machuqolqa or Machu Qollqa, it is an easy-to-access place, with a hiking variation that makes it more adventurous. “Colca” derives from “qollca,” which is the Quechuan word for storage. Yes, quite literally, this site is an old storage facility, and it was used for food storage. You can see these early refrigerators in several places around the Sacred Valley. For instance, when you visit the Ollantaytambo Ruins, up on the hillside opposite those ruins is a qollca. It’s probably the best part of the view as you stand up in those ruins and look out. That old refrigerator, however, is difficult to access, requiring a lengthy hike. So Machu Colca is a nearby alternative about an hour from the more crowed Ollantaytambo. Accessed from the parking lot below, the 14 Incan terraces tower above and traditional water drainage pipes weave down among them. The water pipes made sure the potatoes, corn, wheat, and barley that were stored here didn’t get wet. These “refrigerators” were energy efficient—their cooling came from their location up on a hillside. Wind from the valley below sweeps up and keeps things cool. The stone structures—polished stone shows it was built in the Incan period—are also dazzling when viewed from above. They stand tall above the Urubamba River and a beautiful valley. As the breeze blows upward, you can imagine the thatched roofs and think about the incredible ways nature and humans used to collaborate on things like cooling, long before electricity.
There are other “Machus” than Machu Picchu. “Machu” simply means “old” in the Peruvian language Quechua, and there are many other old, beautiful places to visit in the Sacred Valley, north of Cusco.
Machu Colca is one of them. Also called Machuqolqa or Machu Qollqa, it is an easy-to-access place, with a hiking variation that makes it more adventurous. “Colca” derives from “qollca,” which is the Quechuan word for storage.
Yes, quite literally, this site is an old storage facility, and it was used for food storage.
You can see these early refrigerators in several places around the Sacred Valley. For instance, when you visit the Ollantaytambo Ruins, up on the hillside opposite those ruins is a qollca. It’s probably the best part of the view as you stand up in those ruins and look out. That old refrigerator, however, is difficult to access, requiring a lengthy hike.
So Machu Colca is a nearby alternative about an hour from the more crowed Ollantaytambo. Accessed from the parking lot below, the 14 Incan terraces tower above and traditional water drainage pipes weave down among them. The water pipes made sure the potatoes, corn, wheat, and barley that were stored here didn’t get wet. These “refrigerators” were energy efficient—their cooling came from their location up on a hillside. Wind from the valley below sweeps up and keeps things cool.
The stone structures—polished stone shows it was built in the Incan period—are also dazzling when viewed from above. They stand tall above the Urubamba River and a beautiful valley. As the breeze blows upward, you can imagine the thatched roofs and think about the incredible ways nature and humans used to collaborate on things like cooling, long before electricity.
