Today we visited many of the ancient sites surrounding Cusco. We started out by taking a ride to the country side, where we were going on horseback to some of the sites. We were dropped off at the bottom of a hill, where the horses were kept in a barn. Then we took about a 15-20 minute walk with the horses up to the top of the hill. Then we each mounted one and followed our guide. The horses were very well trained and we didn't really have to know to ride a horse. I had taken horse back riding lessons as a kid and they were so trained to follow the leader, that I couldn't even make them go off the path. We went through various terrain, through the woods, along grass land, on streets and along the sides of cliffs. Every so often we stopped by an ancient site, got off the horses and explored on foot.
The first site was Tambomachay Water Fountain. I think it was used as a bath. They were still excavating parts of it. You can see the figure of a snake within the stones.
The second site was Puca-Pucara. It looked like a fort and look out post. It is built atop a hill and you can see a lot of the country side.
When we got to the last site on the trail, called Q'enko, we left the horses. Q'enko reminded me of a very small flat pyramid. It's about 20 feet high and has a cave like structure below. We also saw some faded drawings we couldn't make out in the cave.
Then we too a walk to Sacsaywaman which was a huge stone panther, probably about 50 yards long and 10 feet high. A lady came up to us offering to give us a tour and said we could pay her anything we wanted. Since we couldn't tell exactly what we were seeing, we agreed and she gave us a very descriptive tour of the history and significance of Sacsaywaman.
Here is some of what she told us. To remember the name easier, she said to think of Sexy Woman. The structure was of a black panther, which is one of the animals the ancient Inca worshipped. It was made of large stones and if you look closely, you could see other animals the builders lined up the stones to look like within the Sacsaywaman itself. When the Spaniards came, the tried destroying Sacsaywaman. But the Inca constructed it so well, they had a hard time. Even the use of dynamite couldn't break through. What stones they could break off, they threw over the edge of the mountain. From Sacsaywaman you could see the whole city of Cusco.
I included pictures of the sites we saw. Some of the pictures of Sacsaywaman include the animal designs in them. I'll try to remember which ones they were and maybe you can pick out some of them yourself and the ones I missed.
The first site was Tambomachay Water Fountain. I think it was used as a bath. They were still excavating parts of it. You can see the figure of a snake within the stones.
The second site was Puca-Pucara. It looked like a fort and look out post. It is built atop a hill and you can see a lot of the country side.
When we got to the last site on the trail, called Q'enko, we left the horses. Q'enko reminded me of a very small flat pyramid. It's about 20 feet high and has a cave like structure below. We also saw some faded drawings we couldn't make out in the cave.
Then we too a walk to Sacsaywaman which was a huge stone panther, probably about 50 yards long and 10 feet high. A lady came up to us offering to give us a tour and said we could pay her anything we wanted. Since we couldn't tell exactly what we were seeing, we agreed and she gave us a very descriptive tour of the history and significance of Sacsaywaman.
Here is some of what she told us. To remember the name easier, she said to think of Sexy Woman. The structure was of a black panther, which is one of the animals the ancient Inca worshipped. It was made of large stones and if you look closely, you could see other animals the builders lined up the stones to look like within the Sacsaywaman itself. When the Spaniards came, the tried destroying Sacsaywaman. But the Inca constructed it so well, they had a hard time. Even the use of dynamite couldn't break through. What stones they could break off, they threw over the edge of the mountain. From Sacsaywaman you could see the whole city of Cusco.
I included pictures of the sites we saw. Some of the pictures of Sacsaywaman include the animal designs in them. I'll try to remember which ones they were and maybe you can pick out some of them yourself and the ones I missed.
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