Cusco and the Sacred Valley is simply brimming with archeological history. The time before European influence is commonly referred to as the Pre-Columbian or Pre-Hispanic era. Literally the time before Christopher Columbus voyage of 1492 which resulted in the indigenous people being vanquished, diminished, or extensively altered by "Christian" Europeans. In our short visit to Cusco we have seen a lot of Inca ruins. But the Inca were not the only nation to inhabit this area. In fact their Empire that started in Peru and expanded to control much of the west side of South America lasted for less than 100 years. So, who went before? There were many other nations and tribes. Let's go and see what they left behind.
For less than $50 Australian dollars, we engaged a willing taxi driver for a 4.5 hour round trip to see the ruins at Pikillaqta (A above) and Tipón (B above).
We passed the hills south of Cusco on the way to Pikillaqta.
First stop, the La Portada de Rumicolca of the Wari people.
So what are these strange pyramid like structures standing in the middle of nowhere?
Without a guide their purpose was a little confusing.
Perhaps if I climb the cantilevering stone stairs to the top I will find out. If only I wore my Indiana Jones hat! Sure enough, one of the basic laws of exploring proved true. Whenever possible try to get up as high as you can to see things from a different perspective.
Now we could see that this was part of an aqueduct to convey water from the hills behind. The small channel once flowed with fresh cool clean water.
"One story in Cusco folklore goes as follows: The Wari people once inhabited the city of Pikillaqta. The Wari were a pre-Inca civilization that existed from about 550 to 900 A.D., and they are known as the first state level society in the Sierra region of Peru. They were also the first to urbanize,[2] and at Pikillaqta, this created a substantial need for a steady and large supply of water. One of the great Wari leaders decided to solve this problem by creating a competition. He offered his only daughters hand in marriage to the man who could bring water to Pikillaqta. Two men wished to marry his daughter-one from Cusco and one from Puno-and so they both began to create plans for a way to bring water to the city. In the end, the man from Cusco decided to build a great canal from the Laguna de Huacarpay to Pikillaqta. In order to do this, he needed to cross a large gap, and so he built the first and largest aqueduct in ancient Peru, which still stands today. This is La Portada de Rumicolca." Wikipedia
Ah, an engineering love story. What's not to love...
Photographing a water basin.
The basin.
So, where was all this water being directed to? Next stop, about a kilometre away, Pikillaqta, a village of the Wari people.
"Pikillaqta[1] (Quechua piki flea, llaqta a place (village, town, community, country, nation), "flea place", also spelled Piki Llacta, Pikillacta, Piquillacta, Piquillaqta) is a large Wari culturearchaeological site 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Cusco in the Quispicanchi Province. Pikillaqta is a village of the Wari people. Wari was the center village and other cities like Pikillaqta were influenced from it. The Wari also inhabited many other sites around the area. The site was occupied from about 550 to 1100AD. Its main use was for ceremonies and the site was not complete when it was abandoned." Wikipedia
Multiple parallel corridor like paths stretch out to the distance.
As we came over the top of one hill we saw the a vast settlement site. Apparently some 34 km2 (13 sq mi) in area. Everywhere we look there is more to see. All the while the midday sun was beating down on us as we wander through the ruins.
So this is the settlement that received the water from the aqueduct.
A field that appears to be a plaza or playing ground. To appreciate the scale, look at the people on the other side of the grass field.
Some of the significant buildings that have been excavated are covered with thatched roves.
This is one of the curious roads or corridors looking north...
And the same corridor looking south...
Fortunately for us we were among a handful of people wandering the site.
While I went wandering south, Alexandra went off and met an archeologist who was working on the site. He said he wanted to make this site more famous than Machu Picchu!
Fortunately for us we were among a handful of people wandering the site.
Endless...
The further I walked the larger the site became.
Eventually we had to leave the strange Wari site to head to our next destination.
Eventually we had to leave the strange Wari site to head to our next destination.
Moving forward in time we returned to the Inca world. This is Tipón.
"Tipón, is a sprawling early 15th-century Inca ruin situated inside the Sacred Valley 3,400 meters above sea level. The complex covers 239 hectares and is located 22 kilometers southeast of Cusco near the town of Tipón. It consists of wide agricultural terraces irrigated by a network of water channels fed by a natural spring." Wiki
Extremely neat and well restored terraces with irrigation channels mostly still flowing with water after all these years. It was put on the List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.
What sort of engineers today could even hope to build something that still functions 500 years later?
Terraces and an intact canal. The upper complex is crossed by the Inca Trail with an irrigation canal.
The site was probably used as a laboratory of agricultural products because of the various micro-climates found within the complex. Tipon is considered one of the 16 most important archaeological tours for tourists who visit the area.
Stair detail
We finished off a long archeological day with something completely different.
The weekend meeting with the Mirador Congregation.
Paul from Washington State, USA gave the public talk in English with Andreas translating.
Angelo behind the literature counter, on the left Andreas and Jasmin originally from Sweden and now living in Cusco. Beside Alexandra, Paul And Sarah and in front of them their daughters Charlie And Jersi and their friend Alyssa and on the right, Sandi. Notice my halo??? Not sure if it's real. I think I have spent too much time hanging around Babylon.
Lloydnalex
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