The valley that was one giant experiment

Here's the Sacred Valley fact that changed how I look at Inca terraces. The andenes cut into the hillsides throughout the valley are the most visible sign of the civilisation that built them, and what's genuinely remarkable is the sophistication behind them, an understanding of both engineering and ecology that turned steep Andean slopes into land productive enough to feed an entire empire.

At Moray, that understanding goes even further. A set of huge circular terraces steps down into the earth like a natural amphitheatre, and it's believed to have functioned as an actual agricultural laboratory. Each ring down into the depression creates a slightly different microclimate, meaning the Incas could trial crops from the coast, the highlands and the Amazon all within a single site, testing what grew where without ever leaving the valley.

I painted the Sacred Valley in watercolour and ink, those green terraces stepping down the hillside. There's a poster with a letter home and a postcard if you'd like one.

Shop the poster here: The Sacred Valley, Peru · Travel Poster