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The whole complex is another National Archaeological Park. It is located in the Ollantaytambo district, province of Urubamba. The town is about 76 Kms. (47.2 miles) away from Qosqo by the road Chinchero - Urubamba and about 68 Kms. (42.2 miles) by railway; at an altitude of 2700 mts. (8856 ft.).
It is a very vast complex which central part is in the town and its surroundings; traveling from Qosqo, from Pachar there is a large amount of farming terraces that are already part of the complex. Those terraces are deteriorated and most of them abandoned; it is sad to observe that the enormous work for constructing them, today is not appraised with some minimum conservation policies. The water that irrigated them does not flow any more. Their stone aqueducts that were a master work of engineering were extended by many kilometers; but, today they do not exist any more in most of the cases. The reason for that, is simply that today no one is preoccupied with keeping them and because we had three centuries in which conquerors were not interested in agriculture but only in mining gold and silver.
Ollantaytambo was a very important fortified city, built as a "tanpu" and also in order to enable control of the roads toward the "Antisuyo" (jungle). According to many historians also in order to allow protection of the great Inkan Capital from attacks of the "Antis", their worst enemies. Today, its name as "fortress" is common, which in practice is improper because it did not have just a warlike or protective duty; but, that of a complex city with an ample urban sector and religious temples. As a fortified city, it had some protective elements, among them a protective wall with few entrances surrounding the town, many "pukaras" or strongholds and watch towers strategically located. Besides, for the noble population dwelling in this city there was a very ample and well planned urban sector, a plaza surrounded by important buildings and toward the town's south an impressive "Kallanka"; that is, a building which dimensions are colossal and completely roofed. It served as a lodge and perhaps also as barracks for the numerous army of the region.
The present-day town is located in the same site where the urban sector was in Inkan times. It is really interesting because it is the only spot in Peru where it is possible to find people living in the same buildings that served as homes for the nobility of the Inkan Society. Some of its narrow streets still keep their water channels where very clean water flowed for the population use; they are by the middle or at one side. The streets still maintain their Inkan names. The town was divided in rectangular blocks with a very well planned geometrical layout giving the impression of being a town designed by modern architects. Every block was compound of two "kanchas" (apartments); the street gates had double jamb doorways which indicate that those were real palaces with rooms around a central patio. At least the lower part of the buildings is original and made with "pirka" type walls that were covered with a clay coat and possibly also had mural paintings. Today, their thatched roofs were replaced by red tiles and it is possible to breath a certain air of modernity as the town has electricity and tap water; but in short, the town has still an Inkan taste. Some decades ago in Ollantaytambo, a worldwide meeting of the "Indian" representatives was carried out and they declared this town as the " World Capital of Indianity". By that time there were some efforts willing to help for an effective conservation of original structures; in practice, it is so little what was and is done for that purpose, and it is so sad to prove that many of its innate elements are being lost slowly.
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