Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Following a quick stop in Lima, I took a one hour flight over to Cusco. Despite the fact that Cusco has become a thriving tourist destination since the rediscovery of Machu Picchu in 1911, it is still easy to forget the crowds and become enchanted by the mystery of the fascinating Inca culture that is so carefully protected here. Cusco's elevation is 3300m, and the air feels cool and clean all of the time. It was the Inca empire's foremost stronghold, and remains a well preserved museum. It is surrounded by the spiritual Sacred Valley, the savage Apurimac River, and mountain ranges of which to name the most well known the "lost city" of Machu Picchu is part of. It is a world heritage capital full of archaeological sites and still intact Inca urban planning. After the war in 1530 in which it was taken over by the Spaniards it was placed in the hands of the Dominican monasteries, and because of this it has a mishmash of architecture ranging from the brilliantly designed Incan ruins to the Spanish colonial churches and plazas. What's left of this once mighty Inca empire is only a glimpse of what it must have been because Spanish conquistadors looted and melted down all of the gold and gems that sites like the Qorikancha were covered with. Now only the stone foundations exist, however this glimpse is enough to impress even those usually bored by architecture. The attention to detail, perfection in design, and overall mathematics approach to their craftsmanship is remarkable. Their structures of carved stone with no mortar, have withstood earthquakes that have crumbled our modern day designs.
I stayed in the San Blas neighborhood, an older historic area set up on a hill a few blocks from the center of town. The area is known for it's steep hills, breath stealing stone staircases, narrow cobblestoned streetways leading to charming plazas, and original Inca passageways, and is now home to most of the towns artists and bohemianites.
The first day we chose to explore the ancient archaeological ruins on the hills above Cusco, named Sacsayhuaman (pronounced sexy woman), Tambomachay, Templo de la Luna, and Pucapucara. A short but steep ascent to the base of the hills brings you to a small town where you can hire horses, which we did along with a guide, Diego who is 14 and studying to get his tourism degree here. With many options for tours here from trekking, world class rafting, biking and more, and over 600 people a day trekking with guides to Machu Picchu alone, this is an obvious choice for a career.
The first stop was Tambomachay, which means "Resort", a sacred ceremonial bathing temple where the spring water that is channeled there was worshipped as the source of life. Directly across another hilltop is Puka Pukara, a military headquarter and watchtower.
Next was the Templo de la Luna, or Temple of the moon. Diego explained that location was chosen because of it's height, and closeness to the sky where Incan gods lived. Here we found a throne and what resembled an altar, where they sacrificed animals, mostly llamas, and sometimes children to the gods to prevent harmful things happening to them. Carved into the stone floor was the totemic statue of the Puma, Condor, and Snake which represents the 3 tiered world that the Incas believed in. The Condor represents the upper world which included gods, celestial beings, and stars, as well as standing for the future and possibility of life in another dimension. The Puma stands for the middle world of human life and signifies living life completely in the present which is a important Inca ideal. The snake stands for the underworld and death, and represents intellect and the past.
Sacsayhuaman was last but the most impressive. It was built over 77 years in 1450 and it spanned across a distance of 3 football fields, however this is only the 20 percent that remained of the original structures. When designing the city of Cusco, Manco Inca developed the shape of a puma in it's layout, and there are 22 zigzagged walls that form the teeth of which Sacsayhuaman is the head. The Incas were defeated by the Spaniards here, and the condors that circled the bloody battlefield afterwards are represented as a memorialized symbol of this day on the Cuzco coat of arms.
On the walk back down to Cusco I watched some local children playing around the ruins as I would have in a playground and realized these areas, with so much fascinating history, was their backyard. Then I was nearly run over by a pack of Llamas, one of which was nice enough not to spit at me and pose for a picture.
- comments