The Archeological Park of Sacsayhuaman, also known as the “House of the Sun”, is a fortress that embraces a wall complex of about 200 architectonical structures – made of impressive gigantic stones – distributed in approximately 3000 hectares. It is located at 2 Km north of Cusco’s main square, and at 3701 m.a.s.l. Considered by the UNESCO a World Heritage since 1983, it is one of the most visited attractions in Cusco and one of the best monuments handmade by mankind in the world.
To get there, you can take a tour with your travel agency or take it in Cusco´s main square. Pretty much all of them will take you to the ruins. You can go there either by bus or by foot. By car – bus, taxi or private transportation – usually takes about 15 min. And by foot, about half an hour walking and climbing through Resbalosa Street, San Cristobal church and the Inca road.
The main attraction in this place, are the huge stones the Incas used for the construction of its walls. In average, these stones have a height of about 9 m, a width of 5 m and a thickness of 4 m. This is the reason why the Spaniards thought of this place as a fortress instead of a religious temple, which was its real purpose. The fortress is built with these perfectly aligned solid stones, what made it impossible to go through. The only way you could enter here was by one of the three doors it has. The biggest stone measures about 27 ft tall and weighs approximately 360 tons.
Inside the Archeological Park, we can find Muyuqmarca, a complex of three towers disposed concentrically one inside the other, connected by radial walls. One of its particularities is the three channels of water built to fulfill a reservoir in the center. There are two more constructions next to Muyuqmarca – Paucar Marca and Sallaqmarca -, of rectangular shape that together with the first one forms a triangle.
There are also some sort of passages named “Chinchanas”. This is a very elaborated system of communication between Sacsayhuaman and different palaces and temples of importance in the Inca´s era, such as Qoricancha and Cusco´s main square.
As some may know, the Sun was the most important god for the Incas. They celebrated him at the “Inti Raymi”, the biggest and most exquisite celebration you can attend to in Cusco. It is a religious celebration, where the Incas adored the Sun, so that he came back every day to bring light and warm. Nowadays, this celebration has its place in the Fortress of Sacsayhuaman every June 24th, receiving thousands of spectators every year, from residents to world celebrities, such as Bill Gates. It counts with the participation of several dancers and actors playing roles as the Inca, nobility, virgins and everything as it was in ancient times.
In the peripheral areas of this fortress, we can find a statue of Jesus called the “White Christ”, which was a gift from the Palestine colony. You can also observe the ruins of Sacsayhuaman from this point. We also find the temple of Puca Pucara, Q´enko and Tambomachay, with impressive water fonts.
If you love to travel, and also want to learn about an amazing culture – participating of a celebration of hundreds of years old – and have a great adventure trip, you should not hesitate to visit the Fortress of Sacsayhuaman.
This article was written by a Peru Travel expert at Peru travel Now, available to help you custom design your exciting Peru Tours.