Peru
The valley of the river Urubamba
The Valle Sagrado de los Inca's (sacred valley) was as important to the Incas as their capital Cuzco and here many former settlements of them can now be visited, most notably Ollantaytambo and Pisac. Other towns in the valley are Urubamba and Calca and bromeliads can be found in all of these places. In fact a ruin gives a convenient opportunity to get close to the rocks where the plants are growing. The places are visited from east to west in the photographic report on this page. At Pisac Tillandsia walteri was spotted, growing in trees and bushes.
A few kilometers east of Calca along the main road Tillandsia micans grows on overhanging rocks.
At Ollantaytambo can be seen Tillandsia nana, Tillandsia paleacea and Tillandsia cauligera, the latter vegetatively looking like a large form of Tillandsia nana.
Puya densiflora is very widespread in this part of Peru and flowers at the end of the rainy season.
Near Urubamba are the Salineras de Maras, terraces where salt is being extracted on the slopes of the hills. The salt comes out of saltlayers in the mountains, via an underground river that surfaces above the terraces. A system of irrigation leads the water down to fill all the salines.
On rocks along the road to the salineras and also in other locations around Urubamba Tillandsia caulescens can be found.
