To Protect
a Princess is set high in the Andes mountains
of Peru. I was thrilled to have the chance to go to Peru recently
to do research. Here are photos of places and things mentioned
in the book.
A Quechua woman with a baby on her back.
Coca leaves at a local market. They were considered
sacred by the Inca. An herbal remedy for altitude sickness
and other ailments, they are chewed and used for tea.
A chinchilla.
The landscape at 13,000 ft.
On their way to find the
Roma dagger, Dara and Logan pass through the sacred valley
of Yawar Rumi. I modeled this valley after Tinajani, a real
sacred valley near Ayaviri.
The entrance into Tinajani.
A small farm in the valley.
A woman hoeing potatoes.
Huts in the valley.
A rare colli tree in the barren landscape.
The trail through the valley.
Llamas. Note the chiliwa grass.
The fictitious ruins of Quillacocha are loosely based on real
Inca ruins in Peru. Here are a few photos from real ruins:
Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu.
Inca stonework.
Note the terraces on the left and the steepness of the
terrain.
Corikancha in Cuzco, the spiritual center of the Inca
empire. Ceque lines radiated from this spot to sacred
places throughout the empire. The conquering Spaniards
built on top of the Incan buildings here.
