Sacsayhuaman and the Inca sights around Cusco
Second day in Cusco, feeling no ill-effects from the altitude we decided to hike up the hill North of the city to the ruins of the Sacsayhuaman inca fortress, only 40 minutes steep walking from the plaza de armas. With this view along the way…
We had planned to just visit this ruin for the day and go to the other 3, smaller ones the next day. However when we got to the entrance of Sacsayhuaman we discovered that the entry ticket for all 4 was 50% cheaper if we visited them all in one day. So we bought the one day discount ticket, at 1:00pm, with 5 hours of light left in the day. This meant a lot more hiking in between sites.
Sacsayhuaman is a large fortress, built by the inca civilization in the 15th century. Enough of it remains for you to imagine a very formidable fortification. A sheer cliff on one side, and 3 levels of high walls made of massive stones zigzagging at right angles across the flat open ground below.
There’s more to the site than just the main fort, with tunnels, lots more building foundations and a circular arena.
We didn’t linger long, in order to get to the other 3 sights before sunset. The next one, quite small, was the inca rocks of Qenco. I met an Andean shaman there who was explaining to me the energy that (the incas) believe is in the rocks here.
After that we walked what was supposed to be a 1 1/2-2 hour tough uphill climb, according to me rough guide. So naturally, we got to the next ruin easily in 50 minutes after a mainly gradual uphill walk along the side of the road. More kudos to rough guide for accurate information. Just before reaching the ruins of Pukapukara we passed through a small farming village. Houses built of the mud blocks and the fields surrounded by them too, they even had a football pitch in the village…
Pukapukara was the gate house for the incas, a medieval customs office for the people en-route to Cusco complete with, apparently, hotel rooms of a sort.
The last of the sites, 10 minutes down the road from Pukapukara, was the baths of Tambomachay. Another small site, with a cool inca water system there.
It started to rain while we were admiring the baths, and since we were completely unprepared for the day, only taking stuff we thought we’d need for the first ruin (no coats, jumpers or much of anything else) we caught a 1 sole (usd 0.30) minibus taxi back to the first ruin instead of walking in what was now a chilly day with the sun long hidden behind clouds. It was not raining back at Sacsayhuaman so we figured we’d walk around some more there. Apparently our ticket was meant to be for one entry per sight (which makes no sense to me since it was only valid for today), but I concocted a story in spanish for the ticket person which she seemed to possibly half believe, and let us in regardless. The light was different and the wind was cold, but we walked around a bit more imagining what the place would’ve looked like in it’s day…
After that we headed quickly back to Cusco, and warmth. Stopping briefly for some shots of the city at dusk, it’s a stunning view night or day.
The first restaurant we found with alpaca on the menu was our next stop, to try the local dish. I’d rate it average, pretty tough with decent flavour. Now I just have to figure out where I can go for a ride on one…
Tags: Peru, Travel
Adam
Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. Thanks for sharing.
I think this is a real great blog.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great. ventolin
Awesome article post.Thanks Again.
Im thankful for the post.Much thanks again. Cool.
I really liked your blog.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
we prefer to honor lots of other web web pages around the net, even though they aren
Thanks so much for the post.
Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your website is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this web site. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for more articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched all over the place and just could not come across. What a great web-site.
you can even cross your pinkies. In about three weeks ago I
Great, thanks for sharing this article.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
Wow! This could be one particular of the most helpful blogs We ave ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Fantastic. I am also an expert in this topic so I can understand your effort.
Thanks a lot for the post.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this article and the rest of the website is also very good.
Really appreciate you sharing this article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.
Thanks again for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
You have observed very interesting details! ps nice site.
Thanks for the blog post.Much thanks again. Cool.
I truly appreciate this article.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog article.Much thanks again. Cool.
Im thankful for the article.Really thank you! Cool.
Thanks-a-mundo for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Remarkable issues here. I am very glad to peer your post. Thank you a lot and I am looking forward to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
Thanks again for the post.Really thank you! Will read on…
Perfectly written written content , regards for selective information.
Thank you ever so for you blog.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
The quality of our personalized selection of fine Italian made crystal serving selection remain unchallenged.
Really appreciate you sharing this article.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
You ave made some really good points there. I checked on the net for more information about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this web site.
Thanks for the blog article. Keep writing.
pretty practical material, overall I imagine this is really worth a bookmark, thanks
Im grateful for the blog.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Im grateful for the blog article.Much thanks again. Will read on
A big thank you for your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
Nice weblog here! Also your site quite a bit up very fast! What web host are you the usage of? Can I am getting your affiliate link to your host? I desire my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Fantastic blog article.Really thank you!
Wow, great blog article.Really thank you!
Where else may anybodаАааБТ fаАабТТgure out that kin? аА аБТf info in
Very neat blog post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
I truly appreciate this post.Thanks Again.
Appreciate you sharing, great blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
I truly appreciate this blog article.Thanks Again. Really Great.
I cannot thank you enough for the post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
I really liked your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.
I truly appreciate this article.
Muchos Gracias for your blog.Thanks Again. Awesome.
I appreciate you sharing this blog. Much obliged.
Major thankies for the blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
I truly appreciate this article.Really thank you!
I have learn several good stuff here. Certainly price bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much effort you place to create any such great informative site.
Some truly prize blog posts on this internet site , saved to favorites.