Dr. Luis Suárez is appointed as the first Cultural Ambassador of the District Municipality of Ollantaytambo, Province of Urubamba and Department of Cusco.
The Mayor of Ollantaytambo José Ríos Coronel in the District Municipality of Ollantaytambo accompanied by a delegation from the United States and Lima were Dayamy Rodríguez – Executive Director and Founder of the Suárez Museum of Natural Science History accompanied by Maely Suárez from the United States and from Lima They were Monica Canales – President of Dstinos Internacional, Jaime Acuña Sotelo – Journalist for Dstinos Peru International Magazine and Rita Bustamante Angeles – Environmental and Natural Resources Engineer.
Suárez formally thanked Armando Mujica – Municipal Manager for all the professional management. Mayor’s Resolution number 194 – 2022 – MDO – A – SG was delivered. to Dr. Luis Suárez as Cultural Ambassador and as if that were not enough, Mayor Jose Ríos Coronel gave Dr. Luis Suárez the personalized Medal for his 2019 – 2022 administration as Mayor of Ollantaytambo.
Suarez stated that Ollantaytambo received the award as one of the Best Tourist Towns in the world. “This trophy has a great meaning for Cusco and for Peru. With it, they are recognizing the towns that are committed to making tourism an engine of development and well-being for their citizens.
Ollantaytambo (in Quechua: Ullantaytampu, “warehouse or inn of Ollanta”) is a Peruvian town and Inca archaeological site, capital of the homonymous district located in the province of Urubamba, in the department of Cuzco. It is located about 90 km northwest of the city of Cuzco. During the Inca period, Pachacutec conquered the region and built the town and a ceremonial center. At the time of the conquest, it served as a fort for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance. In Ollantaytambo, there are resistance platforms (to avoid landslides), not agricultural as in the other archaeological sites of Cuzco. Today it is an important tourist attraction due to its Inca constructions and for being one of the most common starting points of the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
Ollantaytambo is a typical example of the extraordinary urban planning of the Incas.
Its cobbled and winding streets, the ruins scattered everywhere and its agricultural terraces are attractions that stand out in themselves and the visitor can appreciate it in all its splendor. Among the ruins, it is recommended to visit the old fortress and the temple, where we can appreciate magnificent views of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
History According to Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, a 16th-century Spanish chronicler, the Inca emperor Pachacutec conquered and destroyed Ollantaytambo and later incorporated it into his empire. Under the rule of the Incas, the town was rebuilt with splendid buildings and the Urubamba river valley was irrigated and provided with terraces; the town served as a shelter for the Inca nobility while the platforms were worked by yanaconas, servants of the emperor. After Pachacútec’s death, the region passed into the custody of his panaqa, his family group.
During the conquest, Ollantaytambo functioned as a temporary capital for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance against the Spanish conquerors. Under his command, the town and its surroundings were severely fortified in the direction of the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, which had fallen under Spanish rule. On the Mascabamba plain, near Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca defeated a Spanish expedition by blocking their advance from a set of terraces and flooding the plain. However, despite his victory, Manco Inca did not consider it feasible to remain in Ollantaytambo, so he retired to the thick forest of the Vilcabamba area. In 1540, the native population of Ollantaytambo was assigned charge to Hernando Pizarro.
It is one of the most important and highly visited archaeological sites in Cusco. Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) mentioned that Ollantaytambo received a trophy that recognizes it as one of the Best Tourist Towns in the world. It is not the first time that the city of Cuzco has received recognition since last year it was chosen as one of the best tourist towns at the XXIV General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Spain. This recognition is called “Best Tourism Village” and is awarded by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In this way, the UNWTO seeks to distinguish peoples from all over the world that have demonstrated their commitment to the promotion and conservation of their cultural heritage and to sustainable development through tourism.
Architecture It is one of the most monumental architectural complexes of the ancient Inca Empire, commonly called “Fortress”, due to its enormous walls, it was actually a Tambo or city-lodging, strategically located to dominate the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The architectural type used, as well as the quality of each stone, worked individually (see image), make Ollantaytambo one of the most peculiar and surprising works of art made by ancient Peruvians, especially the Temple of the Sun and its gigantic monoliths.
The straight, narrow and picturesque streets today form fifteen blocks of houses located north of the main square of the city, which in themselves constitute a truly historical legacy. Some colonial-type houses are built on beautiful, finely polished Inca walls. The tones of the stone are cheerful, the color of a petrified flower, dark pink. In the main square, a large block with perfect edges fits its fifteen angles of a terrestrial star into a double row. It was declared an Archaeological Park with the National Directorial Resolution No. 395 of the year 2002. It has an extension of 34,800 hectares.
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