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Today we enjoyed a city tour in and around Cusco with a rather unimpressive guide. It included urban locations such as the Convent of Cusco´s Saint Damingo, the Basilica Cathedral and the Triunfo Church around the beautiful Plaza de Armas, and a trip to various Inca ruins including Saqsaywaman, Tambomachay, Qénqo and Pukapukara.
Saqusaywaman, pronounced something close to "Sexy Woman", was quite interesting with enormous stones arranged in three levels to create the sun temple, which overlooks the city of Cusco. If viewed from above, it serves as the head of the Puma, the shape of the orginal urban design that was a walled city built by the Incas.
Oorikancha, or the Convent of Santa Domingo provided some excellent examples of the Inca stonework. Much of the original foundations are still standing (despite a couple of large earthquakes in the region) and the structure that now stands is built upon many of these ruins, largely destroyed and devastated by the pilfering Pizarro, the Spaniard General who devastated the Inca civilization.
Pukapukara was a relatively intact lookout tower as part of the extensive Inca trail and Tambomachay an excellent example of the sophisticated irrigation systems the Inca´s created. Qèngo, the last stop on what was a long day, was the throne place for high priests and apparent contained a stone structure that when the sun was at the right angle, would create the shadow of a puma, a sacred animal to the Inca.
previous travel blog entry
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