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Sacsayhuaman, Cuzco, Peru

Sacsayhuamán, often spelled Sacsahuaman or Saqsaywaman (from Quechua Saqsaywaman (pukara) '(fortress) of the royal falcon or hawk'), is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire.

The complex was built by the Incas in the 15th century, particularly under Sapa Inca Pachacuti and his successors.

Dry stone walls constructed of huge stones were built on the site, with the workers carefully cutting the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar.

Entering Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman is located on a steep hill overlooking the city of Cuzco.


Sacsayhuaman Plan
Plan Legend:

  1. Parking lot
  2. Stepped walls
  3. Main door
  4. Paucamarca
  5. Sallacmarca
  6. Muyumarca
  7. Large plaza
  8. Inca Throne
  9. Qocha Chincanas
  10. Colcas or warehouses

Panorama of the large plaza
The large plaza (Plan No. 7), capable of holding thousands of people, was designed for communal ceremonial activities.


Panorama of the Inca Throne
The Inca Throne (Plan No. 8), located next to the fortress, consisted of a large rock carved and polished on several levels, from where the sovereign presided over festivals, celebrations, parades and gave orders.


Panorama of the fortress
It is thought that it corresponded to a military fortress, where warriors were trained.

  • There are doubts about it, since, according to its architecture, it could have had a religious purpose and been built as a great temple to the Sun God.
  • However, during the time of the conquest, it showed its effectiveness as a fortress to defend the city.

Ceque system
The ceque system was a series of ritual pathways leading outward from Cusco into the rest of the Inca Empire.

  • The empire was divided into four sections called suyus. In fact, the local name for the empire was "Tawantinsuyu," meaning "four parts together."
  • Cusco, the capital, was the center and meeting point of these four sections, which converged at Qurikancha, the temple of the sun.
  • A total of 41 or 42 known pathways radiated out from the Qurikancha or sun temple in Cusco, leading to shrines or wak'as of religious and ceremonial significance.

Main entrance to the fortress
The main entrance (Plan No. 3) to the fortress is located in the center of the triple wall (Plan No. 2).

  • The best-known zone of Sacsayhuamán includes its great plaza and its adjacent three massive terrace walls.
  • The stones used in the construction of these terraces are among the largest used in any building in pre-Hispanic America.
  • They display a precision of cutting and fitting that is unmatched in the Americas. The stones are so closely spaced that a single piece of paper will not fit between many of the stones. This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward, is thought to have helped the ruins survive devastating earthquakes in Cuzco.
  • The longest of the three walls is about 400 meters (1312 ft). They are about 6 meters (20 ft) tall. The estimated volume of stone is over 6,000 cubic meters (211,888 cubic feet).
  • Estimates for the weight of the largest limestone block vary from 128 tonnes to almost 200 tonnes. These stones were moved an estimated 35 km (22 miles) from Rumicolca.

The Inca Throne (Plan No. 8) seen from the top of the fortress.

Crossing towards the viewpoint

Panorama of the city of Cuzco
On the left side of the panorama we can see the site of the Temple of Coricancha.


Panorama of the religious sector
The religious sector is made up of Paucamarca (Plan No. 4), Sallacmarca (Plan No. 5) and Muyumarca (Plan No. 6).


Panorama of Sallacmarca (Plan No. 5)
The fortress was the setting where the Incas worshiped the sun in this temple for religious ceremonies.

  • It is thought that tens of thousands of people mobilized on special festivals and made offerings and certain types of pilgrimages.

Panorama of Muyumarca (Plan No. 6)
Muyucmarca (Quechua: round place) was one of the three towers on the upper part of the Inca temple of Sacsayhuaman.

  • The site is of historical importance because from here, in 1536, the Inca captain and noble Cahuide led a thousand Cusco soldiers for several days, without water, without food and with little ammunition of stones and arrows, the last defense of Sacsayhuaman against a great allied army of Spanish and indigenous people, and where, after being left alone and seeing how numerous enemies surrounded him, he threw himself from the top of this tower to avoid falling into the hands of the Spanish.

Sun Gate (Intipunku)
The Sun Gate (Intipunku) is located at the eastern end of Sacsayhuaman's triple wall.


See also

Source

Location

Location: Cusco 08002, Peru