Surrounding Inca Ruins

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Puca Pucará means "red citadel". These Inca ruins are the remains of an ancient guard tower, surrounded by terraces where the chasquis used to deliver messages to Inca soldiers, who in turn handed them to their intended recipients.

Tambo Machay is an ancient resting place where Incas would relax and bathe. There are three gravel terraces from which water flows into several basins once reserved for the Inca ruler.

A fifteen-minute walk from Sacsahuamán, Qenko, sometimes called Kenko, means "labyrinth". Completely buried by the Spanish who tried to destroy every place of Inca worship, this site was only discovered in the early 20th century. Upon entering it, you will see the table carved in rock where llamas were sacrificed with the tumi.

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Sacsahuamán Some historians believe that Sacsahuamán was built during the reign of Túpac Yupanqui, while others claim that it was founded much earlier. Either way, you will definitely be impressed and fascinated by this puzzling cyclopean structure.

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The megalithic ruins of Sacsahuamán are three kilometres north of Cuzco, and they have managed to stand the test of time. However, the question remains: is Sacsahuamán a fortress or a religious site? Though no one knows for sure, Sacsahuamán most probably played a religious role before the Spanish conquest, since there is evidence that different gods were worshipped here. When the Spanish arrived, Sacsahuamán's role suddenly changed, and these walls were used to protect the Incas against the invaders.

The ruins are spread over three terraces, and it is hard to understand how the gigantic rocks of these ruins could fit so perfectly together. Some of the boulders that form the lower terrace are almost 9 metres high and weigh approximately 360 tonnes! If you were to look at the city from above, you would see that Cuzco and its surroundings were built in the shape of a giant puma whose head is the Sacsahuamán fortress.

Almost 40 kilometres east of Cuzco, Andahuaylillas boasts a rare jewel - a colonial church. Known as the "Sistine Chapel of South America", it was built in the 17th century by the Jesuits who settled here to convert the natives to Catholicism. It may not look like much from the outside with its decaying façade in need of restoration work, but the sumptuous interior will leave you awe-struck. Its walls are richly covered with paintings by the escuela cuzqueña, and a number of illuminations are covered in gold-leaf.

For some mysterious reason, Pikillacta means "city of fleas" - Piki means "flea", and llacta means "city". These ruins of an ancient, pre-Columbian Wari city lie just over 30 kilometres from Cuzco and might have been abandoned due to a famine or because of the invading Incas. The city is surrounded by an eroded wall, but the amazing urban planning of these people who lived around 900 BC is still evident. The roads and homes are perfectly aligned in a grid-like pattern.