The last stop of the day is also the largest: the terraced hillside fortress above Ollantaytambo itself. The site's massive stone blocks were quarried at Cachiccata, a hillside some 6 kilometers (4 miles) away on the far side of the Urubamba River, and dragged into place by a labor force whose logistics still aren't fully understood. The Temple of the Sun near the summit was never finished — six enormous stones are fitted together, with gaps where more were meant to follow — and the terraces below it were among the few places in the empire where the Incas won a real battle against the Spanish, when Manco Inca's forces repelled Hernando Pizarro here in 1537.
The town below the fortress is one of the few in Peru that still follows its original Inca street plan, water channels running open along the sides of the roads exactly as they did five centuries ago. Across the valley, the hillside opposite the fortress is dotted with Pinkuylluna, a cluster of Inca storehouses built into the slope, visible from nearly anywhere in town. With two nights here, there's no need to see everything today — just settle in, find dinner, and let the fortress wait for tomorrow's clearer light before the train to Machu Picchu.
Deleting this waypoint is permanent and cannot be undone.