Cusco

The Fortress of Saqsaywaman

The Fortress of SaqsaywamanIn an area above Cusco that contains 33 distinct archaeological sites, the most famous is the Fortress of Saqsaywaman. This complex is considered the most important ceremonial site of the Hanan Qosqo (High Cusco) period. The site has three retaining terraces, featuring huge walls with precisely interlocking stones, creating a zigzag formation. Some speculate the plan was to always be able to outflank a besieging army, others that the shape forms the teeth in the figure of a puma that Cusco was designed to resemble. The fort contains three towers. The Central Tower, called Muyuj Marca “the round place” was a residence for the Incas. Its walls were covered in gold and silver plate. The second tower was known as Paucamarca “the friendly place” and the third tower, called Sallajmarca “the rough place”. The esplanade in front of Saqsaywaman hosts the Inti Raymi festival held every 24th of June.

Location Access
Province: Cusco
Distance:
Time:
2 kilometers
northeast of Cusco		 10 minutes by car
District: Cusco
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Entry from 8:00 -
15:00 Monday to
Sunday, closing
time 17:00		 N/A

Qenqo

Quenqo ceremonial siteQenqo (“labyrinth” in the Quechua language) is considered a cult site where ceremonies were held to honor the sun, moon and stars. The site combines Inca construction techniques with a natural rock formation, out of which corridors and caverns have been carved. Among the structures is an Intihuatana, a solar clock, on top of the rock formation; a zigzag shaped channel that passes nearby, sacred “chicha” (a spirit made from corn) was poured down it for use in ceremonies; an amphitheater, “el tormo” formed of 19 niches, in front of which a stone 6 meters high has been erected, and the room for sacrifices, an underground chamber with tables and cupboards carved into the rock.

Location Access
Province: Cusco
Distance:
Time:
3 kilometers
northeast of Cusco		 15 minutes by car
District: Cusco
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Puka Pukará

Puka Pukará customs houseThis archaeological group appears from its western side to be an open stone facade and a tranquil plaza. From the east it’s a fortress in a strategic location, dominating the surrounding territory and protecting the main road entering Cusco. The site includes numerous enclosures, interior plazas, bathing zones, aqueducts, watchtowers and pathways, which form a complex with a distinctive outline, and an urban plan that’s admirably simple and functional. The strategic location indicates a military function and its use as a customs house for controlling entry into the Inca’s imperial capital.

Location Access
Province: Cusco
Distance:
Time:
7 kilometers
northeast of Cusco		 30 minutes by car,
2 hours on foot
District: Cusco
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Tambomachay Water Temple

Tambomachay water templeTambomachay is an Inca site a short distance from Pukapukara that dates from the year 1500. It had a religious function honoring water as a vital part of agriculture and regeneration of the earth. The monument consists of three sectors: the fountains, where you can appreciate waterways and platforms on several levels, the canals, and finally the agricultural sector that is a collection of platforms used to control irrigation. These areas are connected to each other by a series of pathways called “sarunas.”

Location Access
Province: Cusco
Distance:
Time:
50 kilometers from
Cusco		 1 hour by car
District: Cusco
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Ollantaytambo

Temple of the Sun at OllantaytamboOne of the most significant and extensive archaeological complexes of the Inca Empire, the town of Ollantaytambo has some of the oldest continually occupied dwellings in South America. The Spanish believed the mountainside sites overlooking the town to be a fortresses because of their extraordinary walls and imposing terraces built into the hillside. But Ollantaytambo was actually just a town and ceremonial center strategically located to take full advantage of the convergence of the Patakancha and Urubamba river valleys. The town was built by the emperor Pachacutec to serve as his personal estate. But it played an important part in the final defense of the empire, when Manco Inca repelled the Spanish conquistadors first attempt to take the town. Ollantaytambo has been profiled as a city of perfect urban planning, which is evident from the streets, plazas, water channels, staircases, bridges, towers and temples, all of which reveal incredibly sophisticated stonework.

Location Access
Province: Urubamba
Distance:
Time:
77.7 kilometers
from Cusco via
Chinchero		 2 hours via
Chinchero
97 kilometers
northeast of Cusco
via Pisac		 2 hours 30 minutes
District: Ollantaytambo
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Chinchero Archaeological Complex

Chinchero is a site that presents exceptional expressions of stonemasonry in the midst of a town that keeps ancient traditions alive. It was constructed by Tupac Inca Yupanqui around 1480 and consists of a collection of architectural spaces: pre-Columbian walls, enclosures, platforms, staircases and altars. The historic center of Chinchero is also considered unique because it mixes an archaeological complex and a town made from Inca foundations and walls, with a population that has maintained its ancestral customs.

Location Access
Province: Urubamba
Distance:
Time:
30 kilometers from
Cusco to
Chinchero		 35 minutes by car,
45 minutes by bus
from Cusco
200 meters from
the town’s main
square		 5 minutes walk
from the main
square
District: Chinchero
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Pisaq Archaeological Park

Temple of the Sun at PisaqThe park is formed around an Inca mountaintop citadel. Under one of its ridges is the valley of Vilcanota, where the modern town of Pisac now stands. Ascending up to the fort, an amphitheater of terraces has been carved out of the hillside. The stonework allows irrigated farming at an altitude far higher than is possible elsewhere. Across from the fort, a hill is covered with funeral niches, their window-like openings carved out of the rock. The ruins and the town nearby derive their name from Pisaka, a species of partridge that was abundant in the region; it’s also related to the name of Cristobal Pisaq Topa, who was one of the people who helped to create the famous history of the Incas that was written by the Spanish Viceroy Toledo.

Location Access
Province: Calca
Distance:
Time:
0 kilometers from
the town of Pisac		 20 minutes by car
32 kilometers from
Cusco to the
complex		 1 hour from Cusco
District: Pisac
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Requires Tourist
Ticket (Boleto
Turistico)
Foreigners
S/.130 Foreign
students & local
adults S/.70
Local Students
S/.40		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Huchuy Qosqo

Huchuy QosqoHuchuay Qosqo is an extensive group of stone platforms with walls that are slightly inclined inward to prevent damage from earthquakes. In the town section you can discern a building with three stories. The enclosure has a rectangular stone floor of astounding quality. In the interior a ledge appears to be in place to support beams to form a middle floor. There are also door recesses, windows and cupboards. You can also visit three long buildings, only one of which is in perfect condition, with five doorways and matching windows with views of the valley.

Location Access
Province: Calca
Distance:
Time:
From Lamay turn
at Km 47 on the
Cusco – Urubamba
road		 1 hour 30 minutes
by car
District: Lamay
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
N/A Open every day Follows two routes,
the first taking one
day, the second
taking two days

Moray Archaeological Site

Moray agricultural terracesMoray is a system of stone farming terraces formed in concentric circles, built around three gigantic holes, all at different levels. The largest of these contains 12 circular levels, to a depth of 100 meters. At the base of each hole is a system of drains to prevent the accumulation of rainwater. Experts say the site was a center for agricultural experimentation and the production of seeds from diverse climates, made possible by the different atmospheric conditions found on each terrace.

Location Access
Province: Urubamba
Distance:
Time:
9 kilometers
northeast of the
city of Mara		 25 minutes by car
15 kilometers from
Maras to Moray		 30 minutes by car
and 45 minutes by
bus
District: Maras
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.10.00
Students
S/.5.00		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 17:00		 N/A

Pikillaqta

pikillaqtaA pre-Inca city estimated to have reached its high point between 800 and 1100 AD, in the period corresponding with the development of the Wari culture. Today Pikillaqta contains around 700 buildings, 200 “kanchas” or apartments and 504 “qolqas” or storehouses. At its peak it’s said to have had a population of about 10,000 people. The city plan is geometric, and displays a harmony that is almost perfect, divided into blocks with arrow-straight streets.

Location Access
Province: Urubamba
Distance:
Time:
30 kilometers from
Cusco to Pikillaqta		 45 minutes by bus
District: Maras
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.10.00
Students
S/.5.00		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Machu Picchu Sanctuary

machu picchu smallThe famous Inca mountaintop city has captured the world’s attention. In 2007 Machu Picchu was elected one of the new 7 wonders of the world in a global poll. With its majestic architecture, intricate stone walls, esplanades, and platforms, the city is marvelously adapted to the mountain escarpment it sits on. The city lies at 2,430 meters above sea level, immersed in mountain forests and surrounded by an extraordinary landscape. Building started at Machu Picchu around 1430 AD but it was abandoned at the time of the Spanish conquest, and was not discovered by the Conquistadors. The sanctuary of Machu Picchu is divided into two large sectors — one an agricultural area, the other the urban area or citadel. The first surrounds the second. The peak of Wayna Picchu is often considered a third sector, offering a different perspective on the monument from above. The sanctuary is also characterized by great tropical biodiversity, with dozens of endemic species in an area covering 37,320 hectares. The entire complex was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Location Access
Province: Urubamba
Distance:
Time:
112 kilometers
from Cusco to
Aguas Calientes,
97 kilometers from
Cusco to
Ollantaytambo		 3 hours 30 minutes
by train from
Cusco, 2
hours by car from
Cusco to
Ollantaytambo
44 kilometers from
Ollantaytambo to
Aguas Calientes, 8
kilometers from
Aguas Calientes
train station to the
Sanctuary		 1 hour 30 minutes
by train from
Ollantaytambo to
Aguas Calientes
District: Machupicchu
Locality
Reference:		 Aguas Calientes -
Machu
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Foreign Adults
S/.120 Foreign
Students S/.61
Peruvian adult
S/.60 Peruvian
student S/.31		 Monday to Sunday
6:00 – 15:00		 Site museum in
Machu Picchu town
(Aguas Calientes)
Aguas Calientes offers
a range of services:
Restaurants, Hotels,
Hostels, ATMs, stores,
security, Internet

Choquequirao

White llama stonework at ChoquequiraoFew discoveries have revealed as much interest in recent years as Choquequirao (Chuqui K’iraw in Quechua, “cradle of gold”), which many consider as archaeologically important and extensive as Machu Picchu. It is situated on a high plateau in the Province of La Convencion, in the Vlicabamba Valley. Archaeologists believe that it was one of the last Lost Cities of the Inca, where they took refuge from 1536. Choquequirao is an extraordinary complex that was built in the last years of the Inca Empire (1471-1527 AD). It’s possible that it was one of the points of control and entry to the Vilcabamba region, and an administrative nucleus with political, social and economic functions. It consists of 9 architectural groups, all made of stone, and a system of 180 terraces, along with residential houses, administrative buildings, artists residences and irrigation systems. The site takes up 2 hectares, and is still only partially excavated.

Location Access
Province: La Convención
Distance:
Time:
160 kilometers
from Cusco to the
Saywite turnoff, 15
kilometers from the
Saywite turnoff to
Cachora, 30
kilometers from
Cachora to
Choquequirao		 4 hours by car or
bus from Cusco to
Saywite turnoff, 30
minutes by car or
bus to Cachora, 12
hours on foot or
mule to
Choquequirao
District: Santa Teresa
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.36
Students S/.18		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 Bathrooms

Tipon Archaeological Complex

Fountains at TiponTipon is an archaeological complex comprised of 12 terraces flanked by perfectly polished stone walls and enormous platforms, ornamental waterfalls and channels. The complex is considered one of the royal sites and gardens that were constructed by Wiracocha, the 8th Inca king. The site is composed of different sectors including Tipon, Intiwatana (the sun dial), Pukutuyuj and Pucará, Cruz Moqo, the cemetery of Pitupujio, and Hatun Wayqo, among others.

Location Access
Province: Quispicanchi
Distance:
Time:
3 kilometers from
the 20.5KM turnoff
on the Cusco -
Puno highway
from Tipon		 1 hour on foot
20 kilometers from
Cusco to Tipon		 40 minutes by bus
from Cusco to
Tipon
District: Oropesa
Locality
Reference:		 town of Tipon – a
village of the
Quispicanchis
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.10.00
Students
S/.5.00		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 18:00		 N/A

Qorikancha

In Quechua “Qorikancha” means “courtyard of gold” and was one of the architectural marvels of the Inca empire. It was considered the most important temple in the kingdom, dedicated to the worship of the sun. Located in the heart of the imperial capital Cusco, the site was constructed of granite, andesite and green diorite stone — materials that allow the construction of preternaturally straight walls. The Spanish razed the temple and built the Church of Santo Domingo on top of its foundation, but much of the complex, including its curved outer wall, remains intact.

Location Access
Province: Cusco
Distance:
Time:
500 meters from
the main square of
Cusco		 10 minutes walk
District: Cusco
Locality
Reference:		 Along Avenida El
Sol
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.6.00
Students
S/.3.00		 Monday to
Saturday 8:30 -
17:30		 On-site museum,
information signs and
modules

Raqchi Archaeological Complex

RaqchiAn Inca archaeological site that dates from the 15th century, it was mentioned by the early colonial historians Garcilaso de la Vega, Cieza de León and Guaman Poma de Ayala. They all considered it among the most audacious works of engineering built by the Inca. The most important feature of the site is the Temple of Wiracocha, an enormous two-story structure, more than 90 meters long, and 18 to 20 meters high. Before the Spanish destroyed it the temple was considered to be among the largest buildings in the empire. The site also includes military barracks, priests quarters, “the baths of the Inca,” living quarters known as Raccay Raccay, the cemeteries of Ccumo Ccacca, a zone of terraces and the royal road, among other constructions.

Location Access
Province: Canchis
Distance:
Time:
117 kilometers
from Cusco to
Raqchi		 2 hours by car
District: San Pedro
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/10.00
Students
S/.5.00		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 17:00		 N/A

Hatun Rumiyoc (Stone of 12 Angles)

A wall in central Cusco constructed from an extremely hard type of stone known as green diorite, located on the outside of a palace attributed to the Inca Roca. The wall is admirable for its polygonal architecture, and runs along almost the entire length of Hatunrumiyoc Road, one of the main pedestrian thoroughfares in Cusco. In the center of the wall is a stone with 12 cut angles, famous for the perfection with which each corner lies flush against the surrounding stones. Colonial and republican builders have added to the wall, and it now forms one side of the Archbishop’s Palace — the Museum of Art.

Location Access
Province: Cusco
Distance:
Time:
100 meters from
the Cusco Plaza
de Armas		 5 minutes walk
District: Cusco
Locality
Reference:		 Near the Art
Museum of the
Archbishopric
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Free entry N/A N/A

Tarawasi

Niches in the walls of TarawasiAlso known as Limatambo, the historic tradition suggests that Tarawasi was ordered and constructed by the Inca ruler Pachacutec with the aim of establishing an inn or retreat in the region, on the road from Chinchaysuyo. Centered on a great platform with stone walls leaning slightly into the hill, it displays a cellular style, using interlocking granite blocks. It also includes an altar of rock or “usnu” and agricultural terraces with their own water sources and irrigation channels.

Location Access
Province: Anta
Distance:
Time:
50 kilometers from
Cusco		 1 hour
District: Limatambo
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/10.00
Students
S/.5.00		 Monday to Sunday
7:00 – 17:00		 N/A

K’anamarca

This Inca cultural center, at an altitude of 3950 meters above sea level, is composed of a number of buildings made from simple stonemasonry supported by mud mortar. K’anamarca features rectangular stone enclosures with dimensions from 3 to 8 meters across, 5 to 18 meters long, and from 5 to 7 meters high. Circular buildings range in diameter from 4 to 5 meters. The majority of these were storehouses for food. The internal walls and appointments in the enclosures retain their original mud mortar.

Location Access
Province: Espinar
Distance:
Time:
16 kilometers from Yauri 20 minutes by car
District: Alto Pichigua
Locality
Reference:		 northeast of the
town of Yuari
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.7.00
Students S/.4.00		 N/A N/A

Popularity: 15%