Capital: Ciudad de Cusco
Altitud: 3.399 m.s.n.m.
Distancia:
Cusco a Lima 1.153 kilómetros
Cusco a Ayacucho 597 kilómetros
Cusco a Arequipa 623 kilómetros
Cusco a Puno 389 kilómetros
El departamento de Cusco se sitúa en la región oriental del Perú, atravesando por las cordilleras Oriental y Central de los Andes.
La ciudad de Cusco, conocida como capital arqueológica de América se disputa con México el honor de ser la ciudad más antigua de América.
Capital económica y militar del Virreinato del Perú, recibió el nombre de la Muy Noble, Muy Leal Cabeza de los Reinos del Perú, Santiago del Cusco. En el siglo XX fue honrada como Capital Arqueológica de Sudamérica y Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad. La ciudad del Cusco es un museo viviente de la historia de América.
Altitud: 3.399 m.s.n.m.
Distancia:
Cusco a Lima 1.153 kilómetros
Cusco a Ayacucho 597 kilómetros
Cusco a Arequipa 623 kilómetros
Cusco a Puno 389 kilómetros
El departamento de Cusco se sitúa en la región oriental del Perú, atravesando por las cordilleras Oriental y Central de los Andes.
La ciudad de Cusco, conocida como capital arqueológica de América se disputa con México el honor de ser la ciudad más antigua de América.
Capital económica y militar del Virreinato del Perú, recibió el nombre de la Muy Noble, Muy Leal Cabeza de los Reinos del Perú, Santiago del Cusco. En el siglo XX fue honrada como Capital Arqueológica de Sudamérica y Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad. La ciudad del Cusco es un museo viviente de la historia de América.
¿Como llegar?
Por tierra: Diversas carreteras comunican al Cusco con diferentes ciudades del país.
Las rutas más recomendables son:
Las rutas más recomendables son:
- Lima-Arequipa-Cusco (1494 kilómetros) con una duración en auto de 24 horas aproximadamente.
- Lima - Arequipa: Panamericana Sur bordea la costa, pavimentada.
- Arequipa - Juliaca 10 h aproximadamente.
- Juliaca - Cusco 12 h aproximadamente (punto mas alto 4318 m.s.n.m. La Raya).
- Lima - Arequipa: Panamericana Sur bordea la costa, pavimentada.
- Arequipa - Juliaca 10 h aproximadamente.
- Juliaca - Cusco 12 h aproximadamente (punto mas alto 4318 m.s.n.m. La Raya).
Por tren: Existe servicio de tren que une Cusco a las ciudades de Puno y Arequipa.La ruta Arequipa-Juliaca- Puno- Cusco (735 km.) tiene una duración de 23 horas aproximadamente. Desde Puno son 10 horas. El punto más alto de esta ruta es La Raya a 4 313 msnm entre Cusco y Juliaca.
La ruta del tren pasa primero por Juliaca en Puno, por lo que es mas recomendable organizar su viaje incluyendo Puno en su programa.
La ruta del tren pasa primero por Juliaca en Puno, por lo que es mas recomendable organizar su viaje incluyendo Puno en su programa.
Por aire: Existen vuelos diarios a la ciudad de Cusco desde Lima (1 hora aproximadamente). Hay vuelos directos a la ciudad del Cusco desde Lima, Arequipa, Juliaca (Puno) y otras ciudades del país (Vía estas ciudades).
El aeropuerto Velasco Astete está a 3 kilómetros de la ciudad y tiene servicios de taxis y ómnibus.
El aeropuerto Velasco Astete está a 3 kilómetros de la ciudad y tiene servicios de taxis y ómnibus.
Colours, friendship, pleasure and a great diversity of customs and traditions, handicrafts and folklore dances. Cusco is one of the most important cities of the region.
The neuralgic centre of the Inca Empire, with its magnificent temples, Cusco offers beautiful landscapes and an approach to the old Inca culture. Cusco is not only its ruins; it is also its people and their customs, this strange but very interesting mixture of the old Europe and the new continent.
Cusco is and will always be a Capital of culture. Cusco is history, tradition and reality: a tourist destination that can't be missed by those who love history.
Ruins, museums, churches, mansions and a wide variety of architecture, besides being the gateway to Machu Picchu, make Cusco a showcase that exhibits all the cultures and periods of our country: pre-Inca, Inca, Colonial and Republican. Cusco is a memorable destination, full of history and culture. A city with a splendid inheritance and compulsory destination for all who visit our country.
Sacsayhuamán is one of the most amazing Incan constructions for tourists. Its Quechua name means "satisfied falcon", it was the falcon that guarded the capital of the empire, since it was possible to overlook Cusco from the hill in where it was erected. If, as it is known, Cusco was designed with the shape of a lying puma, Sacsayhuamán would be its head, and the Coricancha would correspond to the feline's genitalia.
It is said that the work was started by Pachacútec and continued by Túpac Yupanqui, even though some chroniclers state that it was Huayna Cápac who gave it the final touch. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega says that Apu Huallpa Rimachi was the main architect, and that Inca Maricanhi, Acahuana Inca and Calla Cunchuy successively took control of the works.
Its construction took over seven decades and required the work of 20,000 men approximately, both for the foundations and hewn stone works, the transportation of materials, carving and stones setting. Hewn stones could have been located at Muina, Huacoto and Rumicolca, 20 kilometers away from Cusco, and at closer places such as Sallu, Rumi, Chita, Curovilca and Viracocha. Some of its external walls exceed the 9 meters of height and 350 tons of weight.
Spectacular fortress built with huge carved rocks jointed with absolute accuracy, this astounding sample of the Incan military architecture is, undoubtedly, the greatest architectonic work of the Tahuantinsuyo. But, in addition, it proves the undeniable firmness of the great administrative capacity of the empire and its powerful logistic system capable of mobilizing and organizing such a work.
It is located 2 km away from the city of Cusco, that is, 10 minutes by car. As of the Spaniards arrival its aspect has changed a lot, since this fortress was used as a hewn stone to build the colonial Cusco.
Location
The architectonic complex occupies the edge of the northern slope of the city of Cusco. The southern side of the building was enclosed by a polished wall of almost 400 meters long. The eastern and western borders of the temple were delimited by other walls and cultivation terraces. The main front of the building faces the north and is protected by a formidable system of three cultivation terraces. They are supported by zigzagging walls constituted by large stones that amazed their first visitors and which even now surprise us. According to Inca Garcilaso, these walls were constructed to demonstrate the Incan power.
From Sacsayhuamán, it is possible to obtain a spectacular view of the Sacred City and its surroundings. Besides, you will be able to distinguish summits such as those from the Ausangate, the Pachatusán and the Cinca, places that are believed to be inhabited by apus or powerful spirits that govern the mountains.
Description
Sacsayhuamán is usually described as a fortress because it is practically enclosed by three slopes. However, the fact that the Incas constructed a fortress in that place is unusual, since at the moment of its construction they did not face major threats. Its shape and location would have responded to other principles, such as the harmony between architecture and landscape. Current investigations suggest that it must have been a temple devoted to the worship of the Sun, for which both the construction and the surrounding landscape were important.
The main wall is formed by stones that reach the 5 meters of height and 2.5 meters of width and that can weight between 90 and 125 metric tons. Moving these stones was a real feat, as well as the perfect adjustment among them and the attention given to the bosses' curvature.
The doors
There were several doors communicating the different levels through staircases. Garcilaso had left the names of three of them. The Tiupunco door (tiu means door) was placed at the wall with the largest stones, the second door was called Acahuana Puncu and the third one was Huiracocha Puncu (in honor of god Huiracocha). Juan Pizarro (brother of the conqueror Francisco Pizarro) died in one of these doors from a blow with a stone when the Spaniards attacked the rebel forces of Manco Inca at the enclosure of Cusco.
The towers
The main precinct is constituted by three large terraces, whose plots were leveled and flattened. Several buildings and three big towers were erected on these terraces. To the east side was located Paucar Marca (Precious Precinct), in the middle was Sallac Marca (Precinct with Water) and to the west we could find Muyu Marca (Round Precinct). The first two had rectangular floors. Today there are only a few slight vestiges of the first tower, and only the foundations of the second tower could survive. These remains indicate that it was a rectangular-floor construction. This tower ended up in a triangular ceiling with great slant.
Muyu Marca Tower - The tower of Cahuide
It is a cylindrical tower that, thanks to the excavations carried out and the information comprised in the chronicles, can be imagined. It would have been a building with 4 superposed floors. The first body would have had a square floor; the second would have been cylindrical; the third would have had also a cylindrical shape. The successive would have formed circular cultivation terraces with decreasing width, being the widest of 3.6 m and the narrowest of 3 m. The tower would have ended up in a conic ceiling. Muyu Marca must have reached a total height of 20 meters. It was as amazing work that generated the admiration of several chroniclers. The Spaniards destroyed it, in spite of the protests both from Cieza and Inca Garcilaso.
Not only was Muyu Marca a building with an exceptional design, but it also had a great historic value. It was the place in where took place the strongest indigenous resistance against the Spanish conquerors during the rebellion of Manco Inca. Titu Cusi Huallpa (also called Cahuide) jumped from its highest part in order to avoid being captured by his enemies.
The terraces
Currently there are only a few remains of the ancient constructions erected on the terraces of the complex. Between the Muyu Marca and Sallac Marca towers there was an enlarged square from where, nowadays, there is a magnificent view of the city. On the highest terrace of the set there are a circular well that could have been a reservoir, and a one-door rectangular building. On the southeast end of the complex it is possible to see curve cultivation terraces and two alignments of colcas. In general, in the entire complex there are traces of an excellent system of water supply for its inhabitants, as well as a drainage system for rain water.
Royal House of the Sun
There are abundant descriptions of the richness of the inner decorations, as well as of the high quality and the large amount of objects that were kept in the ancient stockrooms of Sacsayhuamán. This would confirm that it was a temple devoted to the sun worship or, as Cieza de León called it, a "Royal House of the Sun".
How to get there
You can go to the archaeological park both on foot and by car. If you want to get there on foot, journeys last 30 minutes approximately, whereas it will take you 10 minutes if you go by car. There are several routes. As of the Main Square it is possible to go up through Cuesta del Almirante, Plateros or through Suecia. All these streets end in the circumvallation that leads to Sacasyhuamán. Through it you will get directly to the entrance control booth of the archaeological park.
The route on foot
Through Cuesta del Almirante
If you go up through it, it is necessary to continue through Córdoba Street until the Small Square of Nazarenas, in this place you will take Nazarenas Street and then Pumacurco up to the end. Another possibility is to go through Cuesta del Almirante until Ataud Street and continue through this street and then all the way through Huaynapata. This route takes about 30 minutes.
Through Suecia
Another pedestrian route starts in Suecia Street, turns in Huaynapata and follows through Resbalosa until reaching Circunvalación.
Through Plateros
If you walk through it you must continue through Saphi and then take the steep Amargura slope that leads to Circunvalación.
By car
If you rather go by car, you can take Suecia Street up to Salesiano School, turn to the right and continue through Circunvalación.
You can also start in Plateros, continue through Saphi Street and finish in the circumvallation.
A taxi to Sacsayhuamán, without including the tour, might cost 5 soles. If you prefer, you can take the buses of Puputi Street that go to the Sacred Valley, the ticket costs 3 soles.
The Fortress of Sacsayhuamán
One of the greatest lithic monuments of the Incan architecture was, undoubtedly, Sacsayhuamán, which was actually a Royal House of the Sun. In the Incan Cusco there were various Royal Houses of the Sun, Coricancha and Poquencancha were some of them.
The Royal Houses of the Sun were privilege complexes, like small cities inside the city of Cusco, in where people worshiped the general god, the Sun, as well as other minor and particular gods.
These worship centers had their own delimited territory domains, with water supplied through underground channels and lots of houses. Some writers suppose that they belonged to one or several lineages or royal Panacas.
Sacasyhuamán is composed of colossal stone blocks, prodigiously jointed, which guard the city of Cusco.
During that time, its immense stone walls amazed the Spanish conquerors that had just arrived, who called it "Fortress", according to their notion of cities and military constructions; however, for the Incas and their particular conception of the world, Sacsayhuamán was much more significant. The bastions, large fortified towers, houses, Indian temples, stockrooms, roads and aqueducts making up this impressive Incan construction constitute a proof of that.
Waldemar Espinoza Soriano, profuse investigator of the Incan society, says that Sacsayhuamán is popularly called "fortress" even though, as Cieza de León states, "it was a temple devoted to the worship of the Sun".
Among the chroniclers that describe Sacsayhuamán as Royal House of the Sun we can mention the following:
* Garcilaso de la Vega, who sates in his "Comentarios Reales" ("Royal Comments") that people from Cusco knew, from ancient times, that this architectonic complex was actually a Royal House of the Sun. In chapter VI of his Seventh Book he says: "…an Inca with royal blood left the fortress as a messenger of the Sun…he left the fortress and not the Temple of the Sun, because it was said that he was a messenger of war not of peace, that the fortress was the House of the Sun".
* Pedro Cieza de León, Spanish chronicler of the conquest times, states in his book "El Señorío de los Incas" ("The Incan Dominion") that the Royal House of the Sun was located to the north of the city of Cusco, within a collado."
* Martín de Murúa, also a Spanish chronicler, states that Sacsayhuamán "…was, at first, the House of the Sun, and nowadays it is only a witness of its ruin".
"It is undeniable that no other archaeological structure of America is as impressive as Sacsayhuamán. No matter how informed the visitor is, the scene always outshines the imagination". (Alden J.Mason).
Location, Geographic Aspect
Sacsayhuamán is an archaeological complex located to the north of Cusco's main square, 1 km away from the colonial parish church of San Cristóbal.
From time immemorial, the Valley of Cusco or Watanay, as it is also called due to the river with the same name that crosses the area, was not constituted by the fertile lands that would characterize it afterwards, instead, it presented three lakes successively distributed along 30 km.
For that reason, it has been determined that the geologic formation of Yunkaypata (where Sacsayhuamán is located) has 80 million years approximately and has a sea origin, since it has fossilized remains of sea urchins and other organisms of that habitat. The erosion and environment wore away the large masses of stone lime of the place. Precisely here there is a sort of granite slide called "Rodadero" ("Shaped to Roll"); whose polishing is a result from the seismic action of the fault in which it is located.
Rock types such as the andesite, which can be found in the constructions of Sacsayhuamán, does not belong to that place, but they were probably transported from Waqoto and Rumicolca, located at more than 38 km from there. Nonetheless, just as the Peruvian archaeologist César García Rossell states, it will always be an enigma to determine the place or places from which the huge stone blocks were taken to the top of the hill, and the technical means or the dragging equipments, cords, ropes and hundreds of arms used in this task.
Name
Sacsayhuamán or Saqsaywaman is a compound Quechua word that derives from Saqsay: be satisfied or satiated, and waman: falcon. According to some researchers it means "Get satisfied falcon". The falcon is a bird of pray that abounds in that area, and it was the protector entity of the first Inca Manco Cápac.
Others state that the monument is actually called Saqsawaman, which means marbled falcon.
It is said that the work was started by Pachacútec and continued by Túpac Yupanqui, even though some chroniclers state that it was Huayna Cápac who gave it the final touch. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega says that Apu Huallpa Rimachi was the main architect, and that Inca Maricanhi, Acahuana Inca and Calla Cunchuy successively took control of the works.
Its construction took over seven decades and required the work of 20,000 men approximately, both for the foundations and hewn stone works, the transportation of materials, carving and stones setting. Hewn stones could have been located at Muina, Huacoto and Rumicolca, 20 kilometers away from Cusco, and at closer places such as Sallu, Rumi, Chita, Curovilca and Viracocha. Some of its external walls exceed the 9 meters of height and 350 tons of weight.
Spectacular fortress built with huge carved rocks jointed with absolute accuracy, this astounding sample of the Incan military architecture is, undoubtedly, the greatest architectonic work of the Tahuantinsuyo. But, in addition, it proves the undeniable firmness of the great administrative capacity of the empire and its powerful logistic system capable of mobilizing and organizing such a work.
It is located 2 km away from the city of Cusco, that is, 10 minutes by car. As of the Spaniards arrival its aspect has changed a lot, since this fortress was used as a hewn stone to build the colonial Cusco.
Location
The architectonic complex occupies the edge of the northern slope of the city of Cusco. The southern side of the building was enclosed by a polished wall of almost 400 meters long. The eastern and western borders of the temple were delimited by other walls and cultivation terraces. The main front of the building faces the north and is protected by a formidable system of three cultivation terraces. They are supported by zigzagging walls constituted by large stones that amazed their first visitors and which even now surprise us. According to Inca Garcilaso, these walls were constructed to demonstrate the Incan power.
From Sacsayhuamán, it is possible to obtain a spectacular view of the Sacred City and its surroundings. Besides, you will be able to distinguish summits such as those from the Ausangate, the Pachatusán and the Cinca, places that are believed to be inhabited by apus or powerful spirits that govern the mountains.
Description
Sacsayhuamán is usually described as a fortress because it is practically enclosed by three slopes. However, the fact that the Incas constructed a fortress in that place is unusual, since at the moment of its construction they did not face major threats. Its shape and location would have responded to other principles, such as the harmony between architecture and landscape. Current investigations suggest that it must have been a temple devoted to the worship of the Sun, for which both the construction and the surrounding landscape were important.
The main wall is formed by stones that reach the 5 meters of height and 2.5 meters of width and that can weight between 90 and 125 metric tons. Moving these stones was a real feat, as well as the perfect adjustment among them and the attention given to the bosses' curvature.
The doors
There were several doors communicating the different levels through staircases. Garcilaso had left the names of three of them. The Tiupunco door (tiu means door) was placed at the wall with the largest stones, the second door was called Acahuana Puncu and the third one was Huiracocha Puncu (in honor of god Huiracocha). Juan Pizarro (brother of the conqueror Francisco Pizarro) died in one of these doors from a blow with a stone when the Spaniards attacked the rebel forces of Manco Inca at the enclosure of Cusco.
The towers
The main precinct is constituted by three large terraces, whose plots were leveled and flattened. Several buildings and three big towers were erected on these terraces. To the east side was located Paucar Marca (Precious Precinct), in the middle was Sallac Marca (Precinct with Water) and to the west we could find Muyu Marca (Round Precinct). The first two had rectangular floors. Today there are only a few slight vestiges of the first tower, and only the foundations of the second tower could survive. These remains indicate that it was a rectangular-floor construction. This tower ended up in a triangular ceiling with great slant.
Muyu Marca Tower - The tower of Cahuide
It is a cylindrical tower that, thanks to the excavations carried out and the information comprised in the chronicles, can be imagined. It would have been a building with 4 superposed floors. The first body would have had a square floor; the second would have been cylindrical; the third would have had also a cylindrical shape. The successive would have formed circular cultivation terraces with decreasing width, being the widest of 3.6 m and the narrowest of 3 m. The tower would have ended up in a conic ceiling. Muyu Marca must have reached a total height of 20 meters. It was as amazing work that generated the admiration of several chroniclers. The Spaniards destroyed it, in spite of the protests both from Cieza and Inca Garcilaso.
Not only was Muyu Marca a building with an exceptional design, but it also had a great historic value. It was the place in where took place the strongest indigenous resistance against the Spanish conquerors during the rebellion of Manco Inca. Titu Cusi Huallpa (also called Cahuide) jumped from its highest part in order to avoid being captured by his enemies.
The terraces
Currently there are only a few remains of the ancient constructions erected on the terraces of the complex. Between the Muyu Marca and Sallac Marca towers there was an enlarged square from where, nowadays, there is a magnificent view of the city. On the highest terrace of the set there are a circular well that could have been a reservoir, and a one-door rectangular building. On the southeast end of the complex it is possible to see curve cultivation terraces and two alignments of colcas. In general, in the entire complex there are traces of an excellent system of water supply for its inhabitants, as well as a drainage system for rain water.
Royal House of the Sun
There are abundant descriptions of the richness of the inner decorations, as well as of the high quality and the large amount of objects that were kept in the ancient stockrooms of Sacsayhuamán. This would confirm that it was a temple devoted to the sun worship or, as Cieza de León called it, a "Royal House of the Sun".
How to get there
You can go to the archaeological park both on foot and by car. If you want to get there on foot, journeys last 30 minutes approximately, whereas it will take you 10 minutes if you go by car. There are several routes. As of the Main Square it is possible to go up through Cuesta del Almirante, Plateros or through Suecia. All these streets end in the circumvallation that leads to Sacasyhuamán. Through it you will get directly to the entrance control booth of the archaeological park.
The route on foot
Through Cuesta del Almirante
If you go up through it, it is necessary to continue through Córdoba Street until the Small Square of Nazarenas, in this place you will take Nazarenas Street and then Pumacurco up to the end. Another possibility is to go through Cuesta del Almirante until Ataud Street and continue through this street and then all the way through Huaynapata. This route takes about 30 minutes.
Through Suecia
Another pedestrian route starts in Suecia Street, turns in Huaynapata and follows through Resbalosa until reaching Circunvalación.
Through Plateros
If you walk through it you must continue through Saphi and then take the steep Amargura slope that leads to Circunvalación.
By car
If you rather go by car, you can take Suecia Street up to Salesiano School, turn to the right and continue through Circunvalación.
You can also start in Plateros, continue through Saphi Street and finish in the circumvallation.
A taxi to Sacsayhuamán, without including the tour, might cost 5 soles. If you prefer, you can take the buses of Puputi Street that go to the Sacred Valley, the ticket costs 3 soles.
The Fortress of Sacsayhuamán
One of the greatest lithic monuments of the Incan architecture was, undoubtedly, Sacsayhuamán, which was actually a Royal House of the Sun. In the Incan Cusco there were various Royal Houses of the Sun, Coricancha and Poquencancha were some of them.
The Royal Houses of the Sun were privilege complexes, like small cities inside the city of Cusco, in where people worshiped the general god, the Sun, as well as other minor and particular gods.
These worship centers had their own delimited territory domains, with water supplied through underground channels and lots of houses. Some writers suppose that they belonged to one or several lineages or royal Panacas.
Sacasyhuamán is composed of colossal stone blocks, prodigiously jointed, which guard the city of Cusco.
During that time, its immense stone walls amazed the Spanish conquerors that had just arrived, who called it "Fortress", according to their notion of cities and military constructions; however, for the Incas and their particular conception of the world, Sacsayhuamán was much more significant. The bastions, large fortified towers, houses, Indian temples, stockrooms, roads and aqueducts making up this impressive Incan construction constitute a proof of that.
Waldemar Espinoza Soriano, profuse investigator of the Incan society, says that Sacsayhuamán is popularly called "fortress" even though, as Cieza de León states, "it was a temple devoted to the worship of the Sun".
Among the chroniclers that describe Sacsayhuamán as Royal House of the Sun we can mention the following:
* Garcilaso de la Vega, who sates in his "Comentarios Reales" ("Royal Comments") that people from Cusco knew, from ancient times, that this architectonic complex was actually a Royal House of the Sun. In chapter VI of his Seventh Book he says: "…an Inca with royal blood left the fortress as a messenger of the Sun…he left the fortress and not the Temple of the Sun, because it was said that he was a messenger of war not of peace, that the fortress was the House of the Sun".
* Pedro Cieza de León, Spanish chronicler of the conquest times, states in his book "El Señorío de los Incas" ("The Incan Dominion") that the Royal House of the Sun was located to the north of the city of Cusco, within a collado."
* Martín de Murúa, also a Spanish chronicler, states that Sacsayhuamán "…was, at first, the House of the Sun, and nowadays it is only a witness of its ruin".
"It is undeniable that no other archaeological structure of America is as impressive as Sacsayhuamán. No matter how informed the visitor is, the scene always outshines the imagination". (Alden J.Mason).
Location, Geographic Aspect
Sacsayhuamán is an archaeological complex located to the north of Cusco's main square, 1 km away from the colonial parish church of San Cristóbal.
From time immemorial, the Valley of Cusco or Watanay, as it is also called due to the river with the same name that crosses the area, was not constituted by the fertile lands that would characterize it afterwards, instead, it presented three lakes successively distributed along 30 km.
For that reason, it has been determined that the geologic formation of Yunkaypata (where Sacsayhuamán is located) has 80 million years approximately and has a sea origin, since it has fossilized remains of sea urchins and other organisms of that habitat. The erosion and environment wore away the large masses of stone lime of the place. Precisely here there is a sort of granite slide called "Rodadero" ("Shaped to Roll"); whose polishing is a result from the seismic action of the fault in which it is located.
Rock types such as the andesite, which can be found in the constructions of Sacsayhuamán, does not belong to that place, but they were probably transported from Waqoto and Rumicolca, located at more than 38 km from there. Nonetheless, just as the Peruvian archaeologist César García Rossell states, it will always be an enigma to determine the place or places from which the huge stone blocks were taken to the top of the hill, and the technical means or the dragging equipments, cords, ropes and hundreds of arms used in this task.
Name
Sacsayhuamán or Saqsaywaman is a compound Quechua word that derives from Saqsay: be satisfied or satiated, and waman: falcon. According to some researchers it means "Get satisfied falcon". The falcon is a bird of pray that abounds in that area, and it was the protector entity of the first Inca Manco Cápac.
Others state that the monument is actually called Saqsawaman, which means marbled falcon.
Location
This complex is another national archaeological park located at the traditional district of Ollantaytambo, which belongs to the province of Urubamba, on the western side of the Urubamba Valley at 93 km (50 miles or one and a half hour journey approximately) to the northeast of Cusco through the asphalted road Chinchero - Urubamba.
It is a typical town of Incan origin, and it is located at 76 km of Cusco by road (Chinchero-Urubamba) and at 68 km (42.2 miles) by train.
It is located at a height of 2,700 m.a.s.l. (8,856 feet). Both the design and the foundations of most of its constructions correspond to the Incan times. This set was a strategic military, religious and agricultural center.
Historical data
The origin of the name has several approaches. According to the Aymara language, Ollantaytambo derives from the word ulla-nta-wi, which means place to look downwards; the word tambo, is added subsequently. For Quechua language, the name derives from the word Ollanta (which is the name of an Incan Captain whose story is known through literature) and the word tambo, a Spanish derivation of the Quechua word tampu; which means city that offers lodging, food and comfort to travelers.
Testimonies of Ollantaytambo inhabitants give an account of the conflicts and aversions related to the Incas. The history says that the inhabitants refused to pay the taxes imposed by Inca Pachacútec, and this is why they were murdered with impunity.
With the victory, Pachacútec claimed the territory as his and ordered the construction of the magnificent buildings that, even today, the city flaunts. To this end, he used the manual labor of Collao, an area near the Titicaca Lake and Tiahuanaco, which also was defeated. The children of Chuchi Cápac, defeated Collao general, had to work as the fortress builders, but they did not wait too long to rebel and run away. Finally, after many confrontations and a great bloodshed, the Inca Pachacútec got to control the violent rebellion.
Ollantaytambo got engraved in the world's memory thanks to a written drama of the XVI century, represented on the theatre in 1780. The story narrates the conflictive love between general Ollanta and Cusi Coyllor, Pachacútec's daughter. Ollanta distinguished himself from other generals of the Empire for his braveness and great ability, but he had to run away from the city disappointed because he was not able to love a girl that did not belong to his social class. Once he was far away, Ollanta encouraged his population to rebel against the imperial army, causing a war that lasted an entire decade. Finally, our hero was captured due to the betrayal of captain Rumiñahui and taken to Cusco before Túpac Yupanqui; who, after hearing the story, decided to release him and accept him as the partner of her sister.
Another part of the history of this city was starred in by the indigenous resistance of Manco Inca, who, after keeping Cusco enclosed by months and on seeing that his strengths decreased, retreated to Ollantaytambo. The city offered him the perfect defense since it was covered by eleven graded cultivation terraces that enabled him to attain the victory in front of the Spaniards.
The city was the setting for the worldwide meeting of natives, which denominated it Worldwide Capital of the Indians, a decade ago.
Description
Ollantaytambo is another national archaeological park to which different functions had been ascribed. Just as Sacsayhuamán, it is considered a military construction strategically located to protect the city from possible invasions of forest, religious and agricultural ethnos. It is also said that it was constructed to set up roads towards the Antisuyo.
However, what nobody can deny is that it was a very fortified city, surrounded by a wall with pukaras or fortresses. The main fortress is called Royal House of the Sun; but we can also find the Choqana and Inkapintay Fortress on the left side of Urubamba River.
It is one of the few cities that still maintain the urban-Incan planning. It is divided in two parts by the Patacancha River; the first one (to the east) has an octagonal shape with blocks of different sizes, and the second one (to the west) has a ceremonial character, and is the place in where the square Mañay Racay, also known as Aracma Ayllu, is located.
The first part of the town has a grid-shape design, with narrow streets that open up towards the Urubamba River. Each block or square is composed of a group of houses that share the same door to the middle yard. They are made of edged stones jointed with rubblework clay mortar and adobe covers.
Originally, they used a suspension bridge made of braided ichu or maguey fibers that had to be renewed every year. Nowadays, the bridges that cross the river are built on two huge pebbles and are made of large stones.
The agricultural activity of this area benefited from the brook of Patakancha, a place that had huge cultivation terraces that, currently, are damaged and abandoned.
The ceremonial sector was mainly devoted to the worship of "Unue" or "Yaku" (water deities). For this reason, there were a series of fountains that were used to this end, such as the Baño de la Ñusta (Bath of the Ñusta), which is one of the carved-stone fountains made of a single granite piece of 1.30 meters high and 2.50 meters wide. It is one of the most known fountains and the water still flows inside it.
This place is constituted by a small plain that leads to a huge hill in whose sides there are various archaeological monuments. The main monument is located at the top and is known ad the "Fortress" or "Royal House of the Sun".
The noble class that inhabited this place had at their disposal a wide urban sector that surrounded a square and especially a Kallanka, which was an amazing building with astonishing dimensions. The royal palaces had wooden doors, with many rooms around a central yard. The lowest part of the buildings is original and is made of pirka, covered with clay.
A half kilometer away from the main road, on the wall surrounding the city, we can find the old main door of Ollantaytambo, called "Llaqta-Punku" or Grating of the Town.
To the west of the square we can find the terraces that were used with two purposes: cultivation and to stop the corrosion of the most significant temples of the area.
The cultivation terraces oriented to the square side are located to the right. The upper group of these cultivation terraces stands out due to their finely carved stones as well as their excellent assembly. The last cultivation terrace contains the ten-niche precinct also called the Temple of the Ten Windows, and the Monumental Front, whose function is still unknown.
Another remarkable monument is the Inca Misana, an aqueduct carved on the stones of the mountain, next to a liturgical fountain, small staircases and niches of false openings that constituted the places used by the Inca to address to the people.
The privileged position of Ollantaytambo enabled the existence of other small buildings strategically located at high angles of the mountains so as to control the people movement in the valley.
The Fortress or Royal House of the Sun
The Royal House of the Sun, and the entire Ollantaytambo, still maintains the urban planning design of the Incan times. Its rooms still remind us of the presence of Manco Inca, who confronted Hernando Pizarro in 1537, during the indigenous resistance that lasted many more years.
The function of this precinct is still discussed, just as in the case of Sacsayhuamán. Some believe that it was a fortress destined for the protection of the city of Cusco; but others agree with a less martial function given the features of the place: cultivation terraces and finely carved walls on slopes.
The fortress or Indian temple is composed of seventeen superposed terraces made of large carved stones of red porphyry (pink granite) of over 4 meters high, 2 meters wide and two meters deep.
The walls of the Royal House of the Sun have an internal inclination and the main one is composed of six large-stone blocks with small-stone couplings that are part of the Main Altar.
It is believed that the main hewn stone, to build the place, was Cachicata, located at 6 km on the left side of the Vilcanota River. Rocks were partially carved at the hewn stones and then they were brought down to the valley. However, some of them, known as "tired stones", did not get to their destination.
The way in which the huge stones were transported from long distances is always impressive. In this case, they required an artificial channel parallel to the river so as to transport the immense rocks and take them up through a steep slope. They used instruments such as log rollers, rolling stones, camelidae-leather ropes, lever, pulleys and the strength of thousands of men.
It is believed that one of the backgrounds of this kind of construction is the architecture of Tiawanako, which could have been brought by the Collas from the region of the Titicaca Lake, since in the external surface of the room, to the southern edge, there are three carved symbols that belong to the pre-ceramic culture: the "Hanan Pacha" (The Heaven), the "Kay Pacha" (The Earth Surface) and the "Ukhu Pacha" (The Underground). But the Incan particularities are differentiated due to the use of couplings and finely polished external surfaces that were even used as mirrors.
If you want to know the mysteries and the strength of its walls, you can enter to the fortress through a grand staircase made of stone (journey of 15 to 20 minutes) that will lead you to an esplanade and an arcade facing the Mañay Racay Square.
Although some authors consider that the construction was not finished due to the stones that were left in the middle of the road, others believe that, due to the quality and some features of the work, the temple was finished when the Spaniards arrived and the so-called "tired stones" were destined for other similar edifications.
Inca Huatana
It is located at the upper part of the Temple of the Sun, on an almost vertical slope. The Inca Huatana or Intihuatana is constituted by a wall with high niches, on whose sides there are security holes of up to 80 cm. deep. In front of them, there is a structure suspended over a cliff, which makes us suppose that it was used to torture and execute war prisoners or malefactors. Even though the astronomic observatory functions is the most accepted theory.
The Pincuylluna center
Pincuylluna, which means "where the pincuyllo (wind instrument of Incan origin) is played", is located to the western of the Patucancha River, in front of the Temple of the Sun. It is an architectonic complex composed of buildings with three identical superposed blocks.
The base of the blocks is rectangular; it has six windows on the façade and six more on the wall that faces the hill, providing adequate ventilation and lightning.
They are considered the most interesting colcas (agricultural stockrooms) of the Sacred Valley, because, to the left, it is possible to see a gigantic stone block that represents the face of an Inca for the villagers.
If you want to visit the place you must know that the journey lasts three hours on foot.
Site Museum
The museum is a creation of the Andean Center of Traditional Technology and Culture of the Communities of Ollantaytambo (CATCCO, in Spanish), and we recommend you to visit it because it presents the history of the region in a didactic and modern way.
It has five rooms on the second floor of a big rambling house, on an ancient Incan square, which enables the visitor to know more things about the history, archaeology, architecture, handicrafts and beliefs of Ollantaytambo inhabitants.
Besides, this association organizes long walks through seven ancestral routes: Yanacocha, Pincuylluna, Pumamarca, Huílloc, Páchar, Cachicata and Ollantaytambo. The long walks take from three to seven hours and have tourist guides.
URUBAMBA VALLEY: The Sacred Valley
(2,850 m.a.s.l.)
If there is something calling the attention of Cusco, it is its contrasts. When you are at the centre of the city, walking by its mischievous and mysterious narrow streets or sitting in the square, it is hard to imagine that the impressive adjoining mountains can shelter such beautiful landscape similar to the one in the Sacred Valley. Few places in the Tahuantinsuyo could compete against the beauty and wealthy of this valley, for this reason it received that name. Its character of "sacred" has survived the pass of the time and that magic continues seducing the visitors. Most of them, surrendered to its enchants, decide to leave everything and settle under the shadow of the eucalyptus, at the bank of the Urubamba.
The Sacred Valley has become one of the most important tourist centers in the country. Apart from the incomparable historic wealth, the area of Urubamba offers infinitive possibilities to enjoy for the tourist: trekking, thermal baths, rafts or kayaks rides, paragliding or hang gliding, horsing, climbing, etc. Lately they have developed participating tourist programmes inviting the visitor, for instance, to work in a terrace or collect salt from the salt pools. The Sacred Valley also holds two of the most important handicraft markets of Cusco: Pisac and Chinchero.
Although the tourist infrastructure has grown meaningfully in the last years and today we offer a variety of accommodation and restaurant facilities, the valley has managed to preserve its natural enchanting peace.
Geographic Location
Yucay was the name the Incas used to call this fertile valley, one of the most fertile of Peru: its Sacred Valley. They used to be lands of the Inca and his successors , then the Spaniards recognized their possessions thanks to royal favours that granted those territories to the Inca nobility. As a prove of those times we find the palace of Sayri Tupac in Yucay.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas spreaded along the Vilcanota river (the same that going down takes the name of Urubamba or Willcamayu). It embraces the area included between the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo.
It is located at 15 km to the North of Cusco. It is at 27km (1 hour) to the Northeast of Cusco and you can get there through an asphalted road in good conditions.
It is possible to get there by two asphalted roads: the first one is the most used leaving from Cusco by Chinchero (28km) to Urubamba (57 km).
The second important road leaves from Cusco to the northeast towards Pisac (32 km) going next to the Vilcanota River up to the village of Calca (50 km) exactly in the heart of the valley. The first route is the most used due to its excellent conditions.
In the valley, there are a series of picturesque towns ( some of them has beautiful colonial churches), terraces and other archaeological remains, as well as the most famous corn in the world. Due to all these and its exceptional climate, the Sacred Valley has became a destiny no one visiting Cusco can miss.
Among the tourist activities we have the andinism practised in the snowy peaks of Chicon, Vtkav Willca (also known as Puma Sillo or Veronica), Piturisay, Sawasiray, Terijway and Sunchobamba (all of them are tops of the the chain of mountains of the Vilcanota up to 5000 meters high), trekking, rafting (along Pisac, Calca, Huaran, Ollantaytambo), horsing and mountain riding. In the town along the valley there are numerous hotels and restaurants of typical food. We recommend to spend the night in one of them.
Climate
It is at 2800 m.a.s.l.. Its climate is not so severe. As in any other place on this altitude, its climate has two seasons: rainy and dry season. Rainy season is between November and April. The heavy rain may fall suddenly and unfortunately we can not always enjoy a blue sky. But rainy season has its advantages as the hills are covered with thick grass and it is warm.
During dry season the colors of the sky are brilliant but air is dry so the skin seem to break. Generally nights are cold and it can be freezing at dawn. The sky full of stars becomes a real show this time. Talking about its climate, the Sacred Valley is the perfect place. The ancient Peruvians realized that so they came here to get cure from their diseases. Despite of reaching high temperatures and being in an area full of vegetation, there are not mosquitoes in this valley due to its altitude. Besides, we hardly get hot as there is always cool air.
The road
If you go by car, it would be useful to know that going out by Saphi street you will find San Carlos petrol station where you can get gasoline and check your car comfortably.
Following the route you will arrive at San Cristobal, and if you have time you can visit the church and admire the most popular protecting saints in Cusco. The road to the Sacred Valley is the same to go to Sacsayhuaman so if you desire and have time you could also visit the ruins of this complex: Quenco, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay.
The amazing detail of the road is that leaving Cusco means going up to the mountains surrounding Cusco so you will admire the most impressive sights of the city, especially at sunset and sunrise. If light and time are favorable, you can take magnificent photos. From these points it is possible to admire the layout of the city carefully. When days are clear, the contrast between the red roofs and the blue sky is spectacular.
By the path of the eucalyptus.
The path is nice even though it is a little curved. Along all the way, the eucalyptus and the genista go with the traveler. Four minutes far from Tambomachay and we get to the creek of Corao and the belvedere, from where we admire the valley. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Sundays they celebrate a handicraft fair there.
The belvedere of Taray
It is the first place from where we really admire the valley. Its landscape, as it is usual in Cusco, amazes the traveler who after long curves and ups will suddenly discover the hills and the entire valley. The Vilcanota or Urubamba river is running down there. From this belvedere you can take excellent photographs. We can usually find some children waiting the arrivals of tourists anxiously in order to offer them the brochures that "they make by themselves" and they are very proud of them. The path continues and if we are lucky we could admire the snowy peaks of Huancalle and Pitusiray.
The breast of the Ñusta
The first place we get is Pisac after going down the hills and passing Corao and Taray. From the middle of the hill we will have a perfect view of the town. If you have time and a private car we suggest you stopping there so you can take good photographs and observe the layout of the town. To the left of Pisac, at the feet of the mountains we can observe the "breast of the Ñusta": four rows of terraces that seem to be the breast of a woman. As people say, it could have been a homage to the fertility. Although these terraces are very close to the town they have remain untouched up to our days.
URUBAMBA
2871 m.a.s.l.
It is a town of Inca origin at 76 km far from Cusco by Pisac, and at 57 km (45 minutes) by Chinchero. It is located in the same heart of Urubamba valley and it is surrounded by beautiful landscapes outstanding the snowy peak of Chicon and the fields. It was one of the main agricultural centers of the Inca empire. In its square we find a colonial church. There are several hotels, taverns and rural restaurants.
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