Cusco and environs is awash with
archaeological sites and ruins, predominantly from the years of the Inca
civilisation – the most famous of these being Machu Picchu.
For the full complement of photos
corresponding to this blog entry, use the following link to the set of photos
in my Flickr pages:
The City
To see that Cusco was originally an
Inca city (their capital in fact); you must look down rather than up. This is
because in an attempt to say ´our way is best´ the Spanish conquerors planted
their buildings on top of the walls of the Inca ones. The Inca sections are
clear to see at the base of many buildings thanks to their mastery of
construction in stone.
An example of the architectural
imposition of colonial presence is at the Inca site, Qorikancha. Here one can
see the Inca walls sitting beneath the Spanish Iglesia de Santo Domingo. The
Inca stonework is incredible, with the large pieces fitted together with
millimetre precision and without mortar.
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| Inca Master Stonework at Qorikancha - No Mortar Required |
At Qorikancha, the stones were cut
and formed to be generally square or rectangular in shape, leading to the
straight horizontal and vertical lines that one is used to seeing in walls.
However, in the street Hatunrumiyo, things are somewhat more artistic. Here a
colonial building sits on top of the original walls of an Inca palace. The
stone boundaries and joins of the Inca construction are all based upon the
idiosyncrasies of the stones´ original shapes. As a result, the walls look like
a giant and intricate jigsaw puzzle with the mating stones cut to follow each
other´s irregular edges. There are few pieces with four edges, in fact the most
famous stone has twelve sides – each perfectly mated with the adjoining ones.
With the strength afforded by such interlocking construction and the inward
inclination of the walls, they were far superior in resilience to the
earthquakes that have struck the city over the centuries when compared to the later
colonial buildings.
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| An Inca Jigsaw Puzzle in Stone: Wall in Calle Hatunrumiyo |
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| The Twelve-Sided Stone in Calle Hatunrumiyo |
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| Alleyway in Cusco |
Sites Around the City
In the countryside and small towns
near to Cusco there are many archaeological sites worthy of a visit – a number
of these are situated in ´The Sacred Valley´, which includes Machu Picchu. The
organized and scientific approach to agricultural development adopted by the Incas
means that terracing abounds across the sites.
At Moray, the Incas built an
amphitheatre shaped system of terraces 150 metres deep. The resulting variation
in temperature across the elevation of terraces allowed them to develop a
greater understanding of the conditions ideal for various crop species. At
nearby Salinas de Maras they made use of a natural phenomenon to collect salt.
An aquifer exits from a hill where there is a large underground salt deposit.
The salt-laden water is directed to successive terracing where it is dried in
the sun. The salt is still collected today, and 80% of the terracing in use is
that put in place by the Incas.
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| Inca Terracing for Crop Experimentation at Moray |
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| Salt Terraces at Salinas de Maras |
At Pisaq there is a substantial
amount of terracing for crops and the ruins of a small settlement as well as
some tombs cut into the mountainside. At Ollantaytambo, above the small Inca
town is evidence of their reverence to the sun, with alignment of features in
their stone constructions to summer and winter solstices. Stone features also
include references to the three planes of their spiritual belief – the earth
below us, the plane on which we exist and the heavens above us. The huge stones
were transported from a quarry on a neighbouring mountain - I do not think that
the Inca Empire was built without forced labour.
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| Crop Terracing at Pisaq |
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| Ollantaytambo |
Machu Picchu
In terms of tourist-draw, Machu
Picchu is an absolute icon; goodness knows how many millions of dollars it
brings into Perú. I visited it with Julia a Russian woman who was in the same
home stay as me in Cusco. To afford a very early arrival at Machu Picchu we
stayed the night before at the small town of Aguas Calientes – a place that
more or less exists for the hordes visiting the ruins. The only reliable way in
or out of Aguas Calientes is to take the, very highly priced, but fun train
from Ollantaytambo.
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| Early Morning View of Machu Picchu Ruins with Huayna Picchu Peak Behind |
While in the ruins of the ´city´ of
Machu Picchu, there are a number of interesting features to seek out – most
notably on the raised section where there is the temple of the three windows
and a rock carved to allow observations of the passing of key points in the
year (such as the equinoxes). The three windows in the temple are aligned to
present three shafts of sunlight at the summer solstice. The nearby carved rock
(Intihuatana) has four carved protrusions that align with the four points of
the compass, while a vertical section at the top has a face cut at an angle
that reportedly corresponds to the tilt of the earth´s rotational axis. Another
rock has been carved to create a model of the mountain peaks the other side of
the valley.
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| Temple of the Three Windows |
For me, the greatest charm of Machu
Picchu is not in the ruins themselves, but in the setting. The topography of
the site is incredible. The ridge descends from Machu Picchu Mountain to the
plateau which tops the steep sided ridge on which the ´city´ was built. Behind
this is the view for which Machu Picchu is most famous, the egg / gherkin
shaped mountain of Huayna Picchu (pronounced ´Waenapicchu´) and its smaller
sister peak. With the steep sided valleys on either side and Huayna Picchu
behind it, Machu Picchu´s setting is both majestic and beautiful. For this
reason, my most enjoyable moments were spent at points above the ´city´ where I
could look down to the ruins and see view them in their natural context.
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| Route to the Summit of Huayna Picchu - Through a Small Cave |
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| The Ruins Set in Their Spectacular Mountain Setting - As Seen From Summit of Huayna Picchu |
The importance of Huayna Picchu in
creating the classic views of Machu Picchu was clear when I climbed to the
summits of this mountain and its sister peak. When looking down to the ruins
without the view of Huayna Picchu included in the vista (because you are
standing on it), Machu Picchu just looks like ruins in a beautiful mountain
setting. However, when one enjoys the vista from the other side of the ´city´
so it includes Huayna Picchu behind, the view is simply captivating and
inspiring – a masterful and synergistic fusion of ancient architecture and
natural beauty.
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| One of the Calssic Views of Machu Picchu with Huayna Picchu Behind |
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