Fiesta de la Virgen Asunta, Tiobamba, Maras

The procession of the Virgin in front of the 1570 church in the Maras area. This fiesta takes place on and around August 15th every year.

People come from all over the highlands to celebrate and trade their products. Here, the faithful are solemnly singing and marching around the plaza.

A woman sells her products meant for making payments to the earth (Pachamama), something done especially in August during planting in campesino communities.

Pottery from Pukarà, near Puno.

A participant in the traditional cuisine contest. Check out the guinea pig.

The White Rock

An Inka shrine in the Vilcabamba region. It went out of use after its 1572 destruction and there´s no evidence of reuse or activity there before the Inka.

Some fine masonry in what may be one of the ceremonial entrances there.

A huge looters pit next to one of the many smaller carved rocks there.

View of the huge (I would guess 20 feet tall on the other side) rock, from the southwest.

One of the plaza areas; photo taken from atop the rock.

There´s a spring below the main rock on this side. They say that if you sit on those nice niches below, you`ll be impregnated.

A bath on the north side of the site. The water flows through a canal that leads to some extensive Inka terracing and more carved rocks (and even the supposed location of Manco Inca´s mummy - right).

The other side of the main rock.

And another side.

Vitcos

The Vilcabamba palace of Manco Inca, where the Inkas fled in the early Contact period to maintain their government in a small way.

View of the plaza and what some people call an ushnu from atop the highest level.

Overall view of the site from atop Hatun Moqo, where there´s some kinf of Inka retaining wall stretching over 200m long (sorry, didn´t include the photos).

A nice view of one of the side valleys feeding into the Vilcabamba River.

Chinchero

This site is the palace of the emperor Topa Inka Yupanqui, with a colonial church on top (the white building).

Juxtaposing Inka and Spanish architecture. This photo is taken from the plaza, looking at what is probably the royal residence.

Here are the other triple-jamb niches (Maukallaqta not being the only site with this type of architecture).

Some locals drying chuño in the plaza of the former royal estate. Chuño is made by freeze-drying potatoes, using a combination of squeezing out the water with stomping your bare feet and leaving them out to freeze at night.

Another angle for the overall view.

A section of carved rocks and shrines below the impressive terraces there.