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Sacsayhuaman

The masterpiece created by the Inkas to show to the wrold their power and elegance, which by its luxure and abbundance of beauty pressumes the great skills of the Inkas . It is located on the north part of the city, and it was all made out of stone.

Sacsayhuaman was the "House of the Sun" it was not a fortress, like spanish thought once they saw such a construction. Inside the complex we can find deposits for food, weapons, ornaments, materials, and acueducts.

The archeological park covers an area of 3,094 Hectares and contains more than 200 archeological sites. Leading to Saqsaywaman there are two paved roads, one starts in the old and traditional neighborhood of San Cristobal and is about 1.5 kilometers long and the other road begins at Avenida Collasuyo and is 4 kilometers long.

There are other footpaths, one that starts from a place called Sapantiana and which begins at the street Choquechaca is 1 kilometer long. The other footpath begins from the district of San Blas and leads to the temple of Kusilluyoq, through an old inca road that lead to Collasuyo.

Architectural Description: The area of the fortress is made up of four sections called:

  • The rampart section
  • The tower section
  • The Rodadero section
  • Labyrinth section

    The wall or rampart is the most impressive section, built with enormous carved limestone boulders, thisconstruction has a broken line that faces to the main plaza called Chuquipampa which is a slope with 25 angles and 60 walls.

    The towers are located on the hill of Saqsaywaman and form three different basic shapes, the most important one is called Muyucmarca, whose foundations were impressive and round and with three concentric circles with underground waterways. According to the chronicler Garcilaso, the tower was covered with golden plates and the towers were connected one to another with underground tunnels.

    The other towers are Pucamarca and Sallaqmarca where new archeological discoveries have been made. The have found some bones and pottery that belonged to the period of construction approximately about 1430 and 1472 in the reign of Inca Pachacuteq. The other section called Rodadero is located opposite the hill of the fortress. This section is made up of diorite rock of igneous origin, where we can find waterways, carved rocks and what has been revealed to be the so-called throne of the Incas that is accessed by a series of delicately carved stairs. Behind this section we find small labyrinths, tunnels and vaulted niches in the walls.

    The Chincanas (labyrinths in rock) are wavy tunnels that took this shape due to the erosion made by underground water and were later modified by the incas. There are two Chincanas, the big one and the small one in which we can find carved rocks of different geometric shapes.








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