Sacsyhuaman

Grant and I visited Sacsayhuaman, an Inca ruin located above Cusco. It was a steep hike up the mountain ---about 30 minutes. Historians believe Sacsayhuaman served as a religious temple, although the zig-zagged walls give the appearance of a fortress. My picture doesn't do justice to the size or dimensions. It was an impressive site because of its size and the size of many of the stones. The stone you see in the background of this picture is 11 feet tall and said to weigh 300 tons!


Many of the stones in the walls are placed to be the design of an important animal to the Incas. Can you see the llama in this picture? Luckily our guide showed us a few---I wouldn't have been able to find them without help.








Here the guide is showing us the outline of a pigeon.

Can you see the guinea pig in this wall? Guinea pigs have been an important staple in the diet of Peruvians since Inca times and before.

In the upper left hand edge of the wall you can see some small rocks placed. Some well meaning people placed the small rocks in spots where the walls had begun to deteriorate. Historians and archaeologists do not want this to be done because they believe it ruins the integrity of the site.

Here Grant shows his fist to resemble the puma paw fist. Cusco was designed by the Inca Pachacuti, who carefully walked out the design of a puma. Sacsayhuaman, which sits at the top of the hill (mountain) overlooking Cusco is said to be the puma head, with the walls being the teeth of the puma.

Sacsayhuaman was the site of the last major battle between the Incas and the Spanish conquistadors. The Incas held fast and almost defeated the Spanish, but in the end, with better weapons, armor, and horses, the Spanish were just too much.