1. The Fortress of Saqsaywaman

In 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… Click To Read More…

2. Qenqo

Qenqo (“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… Click To Read More…

3. Puka Pukará

This 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. Click To Read More…

4. Tambomachay Water Temple

Tambomachay 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. Click To Read More…

5. Ollantaytambo

One 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. Click To Read More…

6. 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.  Click To Read More…

 

7. Pisaq Archaeological Park

The 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. Click To Read More…

8. Huchuy Qosqo

Huchuay 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. Click To Read More…

9. Moray Archaeological Site

Moray 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. Click To Read More…

10. Pikillaqta

A 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. Click To Read More…

11. Machu Picchu Sanctuary

The 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. Click To Read More…

12. Choquequirao

Few 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. Click To Read More…

13. Tipon Archaeological Complex

Tipon 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. Click To Read More…

14. 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. Click To Read More…

15. Raqchi Archaeological Complex

An 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. Click To Read More…

16. 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. Click To Read More…

17. Tarawasi

Also 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. Click To Read More…

18. 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. Click To Read More…