Cusco - Sacsayhuaman

Sacsayhuaman is the most significant ruin in the Cusco area and is also the closest to the city. It is possible to walk or drive to the site which is just outside the city on the road to Pisac.

Sacsayhuaman is thought to have been a fortress, with both military and religious significance. Cusco was designed in the shape of a puma, with Sacsayhuaman forming the pumas head. Three ramparts of zigzagging defense walls extend for almost 300 meters forming the teeth of the puma.

Although this is a huge site, what visitors see here is only about 20% of the original complex. Up until the 1930s blocks from Sacsayhuaman were being hauled away to use for construction in Cusco. Most of the largest stones, which were more difficult to move, were left at the site.

Some of the largest stones measure over 8 meters high and weigh 361 tons. Despite the massive size of these stones, they are fitted together so perfectly, even engineers wonder at how the Incas managed such a feat.