Sacsayhuaman - the Inca Fortress

All around Cusco, from almost every vantage point, we see the mountainous surroundings. 

Peru's 'Coat of Arms' in a mountain near Cusco

As we leave Cusco, we have a view of some interesting mountain art. (I don’t know how else to describe this.) There is a shield shape cut into the hillside, with the symbols that are Peru’s ‘coat of arms’.  In the upper left is the vicuna (a relative of the llama), Peru’s national animal; next to that is the cinchona tree, (the bark has many medicinal uses from helping with blood vessel problems to reducing bloating);  and in the center below those images is a cornucopia, symbolizing prosperity.

And we’re on our way to Sacsayhuaman on the raised north border of Cusco. The meaning of “Sacsayhuaman” has something to do with the noble hawk or eagle (I found both explanations). This was a fortress that provided storage for arms, food, and tools and also held sites for religious worship, including a temple dedicated to the sun god, Inti.  
  

Inca leader Pachacutec began the expansion of the Inca Empire during his reign from 1438 to 1471 CE. On the outskirts of Cusco, he started construction of Sacsayhuaman. His son, Tupac Inca Yupanqui, continued and expanded it, creating a fortress of massive stone. Thousands of laborers applied their stone-cutting and engineering skills to build what is probably the largest structure in the Inca empire. How they moved these massive blocks of stone, some over twelve feet tall, is still a mystery. 

Guide Rosa in front of a Sacsayhuaman wall 

With our guide, Rosa in the foreground, this picture gives you an idea of the size of some of the rocks used in the fortress construction.  As in earlier photos, you can also see the meticulous cut  edges of the stones leaving no space between them, assuring their stability.

Sacsayhuaman 'remains; view of Cusco 

The fortress was also a source for construction materials used by the conquering Spanish, leaving partial walls that you see in the photo above.

   

In an earlier post when I described Inca engineering feats, I mentioned the way they tamed mountains by 'terracing' the slopes/  Even in this massive fortress we see those terraces. Walls supporting the flat ‘steps’ are made of stone.  The surface is topsoil, and beneath that there is gravel that keeps water from flooding the surface. 

 

Cusco to Machu Picchu: the Tour Begins

We arrive in Cusco, at an altitude of 11,400 feet--about half a mile higher than Quito, where our Galapagos trip began. We have some time to acclimate and have lunch before our tour of the city begins.

Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, is the continent’s oldest continuously inhabited city, with a current population of about 350,000.  The streets are often steep and narrow. Our guide, Rosa, tells us we may occasionally hear a language we don’t know: not Spanish, but Quechua, the language of the Inca.

Busy Cusco

Rosa takes us to the Plaza de Armas in the area that was once the Great Inca Square, the focus of the city’s social life.  The Cathedral dominates the Plaza.

Much of the stone used to build the Cathedral, (constructed from 1539 to 1654) came from the nearby fortress of Sacsayhuaman.  The Cathedral and the other churches near the main square, including the Church of Triumph and the Church of the Society of Jesus, have Inca foundations.  The Spanish intention was to eliminate the Inca religion and establish a stronghold for the Spanish Catholics.  But evidence of the Inca culture remains.

Cathedral in Cusco

Cusco

"Buildover" : wall on the right is Inca construction

During Inca Pachacutec’s reign from 1438 to 1471, he built the Coricancha dedicated to Inti, the Sun God. Gold covered most of the surfaces of the Coricancha, and gold statues adorned the temple. This is the same gold that Inca Atahualpa used to try to ransom himself from Pizarro.

Gold from the Coricancha

The Spanish built the Church of Santo Domingo where the Coricancha had been, but evidence of Inca remains, their stone walls incorporated into the Spanish construction.  Earthquakes have periodically damaged Spanish construction, but the Inca walls have endured.  Inca stone walls are often part of colonial and even some modern building foundations.   

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