Peru: Sacsayhuaman

Another much bigger archaeological site is Sacsayhuaman, locates almost vertically above the heart of Cusco. A citadel excited here from pre-Inca times in 900-1100AD. When Incas came on the 13th century, they vastly expanded the construction and built massive walls in the typical Inca style of giant stone blocks carefully connected together. The main wall of Sacsayhuaman is built in zigzag with giant stones up to 5m high and 2m wide, weighing between 90-125 tons each. When Spanish first saw Sacsayhuaman, they were totally taken aback by the size and scale of the fortress and the masonry. Spanish attacked it twice and then Inca later laid siege to it trying to reclaim it from the Spanish. What remains today (estimated to be only about 30-40% of the original structures) is a vast site of walls and foundations, criss crossed by paths that ultimately lead to the mountain edge overlooking Cusco with Plaza des Armas below. It’s a massive atmospheric site, and seeing it in a beautiful sunset light was much more impressive then my first experience in 2007.
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