2 Best Sights in Qenko, Cusco and the Sacred Valley

It may be a fairly serene location these days, but Qenko, which means "zigzag," was once the site of one of the Incas' most intriguing and potentially macabre rituals. Named after the zigzagging channels carved into the surface, Qenko is a large rock thought to have been the site of an annual pre-planting ritual in which priests standing on the top poured llama blood into a ceremonial pipe, allowing it to make its way down the channel. If the blood flowed left, it boded poor fertility for the coming season. If the liquid continued the full length of the pipe, it spelled a bountiful harvest. Other symbolic carvings mix it up on the rock face, too—the eagle-eyed might spot a puma, condor, and llama.  Today you won't see any blood, but the carved channels still exist, and you can climb to the top to see how they zigzag their way down.

Only half a mile away from Qenko is this lesser-known Inca temple ruin that's dedicated to fertility (its main cave is believed to represent a woman's womb). One of the rocks on the exterior of the cave has a semicircular moon shape from which the temple takes its name. Even if it's not much visited by tourists, locals flock here for the beautiful views of Cusco and the mountains from its top, and it shouldn't be missed, especially given that admission is totally free.