Tipon

An Inka Period site apparently dedicated to water. It´s a bowl worked into terracing and canals to the east of Cusco.

Some of the scary steps the Inka often built into taller terraces. I´m short, but they were shorter and I have a heck of a time getting down those.

Baths.

Canals and baths.
And more canals.
A temple area? Nothing substantial is really published on the site, but this area has fine ashlars that are typically used to identify ceremonial sectors.


And finally, some very fancy canal-bath business.

Random photos from hikes around Ollantaytambo

These photos comprise a selection from the many photos taken on site visits around the major tourist attraction of Ollantaytambo, the famous site of one of the battles between the Inkas and the Spaniards in which the Inkas supposedly flooded the plain to fend off the horse-mounted Spaniards.
These are some of the terraces and the nicest part of the main site of Ollantaytambo, located at the end of the Sacred Valley before beginning the approach to Machu Picchu.


Some of the many storehouses located along the hillsides surrounding Ollantaytambo and into the Patacancha Valley that runs north from there.

Hiking through the Patacancha Valley, one passes through acres of fine Inka terracing on the way to a possible military administrative center called Pumamarca. That´s a lot of agricultural production.

Nearly all the buildings at Pumamarca have evidence of the roof being burned, which caved in and smoldered before destroying the building itself. The question archaeologists can´t really answer is whether the Inkas did it when they fled or the Spaniards did it to destroy native infrastructure.

A not-so-great overview of the site.
Another imperfect photo of the zigzagging walls surrounding one side of the site. These are good for increasing defensibility.

The preservation is so good at Pumamarca, you can still see the ichu rope used to secure beams.



More evidence of burning.
Positions for beams to support a second story.

More nice terracing on the hike back to Ollantaytambo (this one is about 3.5 hours roundtrip if you go quickly; the books say 5 hours).

Some Inti Raymi photos

These photos were taken during Inti Raymi (the winter solstice celebration) on the only day I was caught in the plaza with a camera. Each day leading up to the main celebration, they go from preschool to elementary and so on up to college and adult groups. Day by day those groups perform traditional dances in the plaza until the main theatrical celebration that takes place in the Plaza de Armas and Sacsahuaman.

Machu Picchu

Drumroll please... I at last present to you some photos of Machu Picchu. After a few seasons of Peruvian travel they have finally arrived. And there is no rhyme or reason to why I chose the ones I did, so just enjoy them.

Intipunku, the Sun Gate, which is theoretically the first thing a visitor to Machu Picchu would have passed through upon entering the site. Now visitors come in through the center of the main site, definitely not as dramatic because...

... this is the first view of the site you get from the ancient gate. The trail you see is the new bus trail that ascends the mountain, but walking to the Sun Gate from the site is about an hour and a half roundtrip. There are some control points along the way, so obviously access was restricted in some way.

Your standard Machu Picchu overview photo.

Another standard, this time including Huayna Picchu in the background (see photos below of the hike up and down this monster).

A solar observatory of sorts, according to some.

This rock is supposedly shaped like a condor.

View from nearly atop Huayna Picchu. You can see Machu Picchu partially in the background.

Part of the Inka staircase up Huayna Picchu.

Full view of Machu Picchu from halfway up Huayna Picchu.

The "moon temple" that´s way down on the bottom of Huayna Picchu. I think this was a place for keeping important mummies.

A good example of how the Inka constructed Machu Picchu to meld with the natural landscape.

One of the sectors with the most impressive stonework at the site. Again, no mortar, no iron tools. Think about it.

Mummy storage locker under the solar observatory.

Damn, them´s some fine niches.

Some terraces below the main site where the INC is currently excavating. Check out the river below.





A good example of fine Inka waterworks.

Maukallaqta

Maukallqata is an Inka administrative center to the south of Cusco. It´s very well preserved, but to get there you have to leave Cusco at 4 in the morning and hike uphill for an hour.

This is a strange example of Inka administration because, unlike other cases, it wasn´t built along a major transport route in the region. It seems the Inka employed a different administrative strategy here, leaving much of the local settlement in place and building state infrastructure alongside it.

I was misinformed that this is the only Inka site with triple-jamb niches, outdoing the already boisterous double-jamb niches and doors of most important Inka architecture. On the contrary, I just saw some triple-jamb doors in Chinchero. I shall post photos soon.

A platform near the center of the site, identified very tentatively as an ushnu, or ceremonial platform.