Peru Guide
Cusco
Sacsayhuaman
Opening time: Daily 7am–5.30pm
Price: Entry by Cusco Tourist Ticket ($47 for ten days, students $25: valid for sixteen Cusco attractions)
SACSAYHUAMAN forms the head of Cusco's ethereal puma, whose fierce-looking teeth point away from the city. The name Sacsayhuaman is of disputed origin, with different groups holding that it means either "satiated falcon", "speckled head" or "city of stone". Protected by such a steep approach from the town, the fortress only needed defensive walls on one side. Nevertheless, this "wall" is one of South America's archaeological treasures, actually formed by three massive, parallel stone ramparts zigzagging together for some 600m across the plateau just over the other side of the mountain top from Cusco city and the valley below. These zigzag walls, incorporating the most monumental and megalithic stones used in ancient Peru, form the boundary of what was originally designed as a "spiritual distillation" of the ancient city below, with many sectors named after areas of imperial Cusco. Little of the inner structures remains, yet these enormous ramparts stand 20m high, quite undamaged by past battles, earthquakes and the passage of time. The strength of the mortarless stonework – one block weighs more than 300 tonnes – is matched by the brilliance of its design: the zigzags, casting shadows in the afternoon sun, not only look like jagged cat's teeth, but also seem to have been cleverly designed to expose the flanks of any attacking force. Recently, however, many sacred and ritual objects excavated here have caused archaeologists to consider Sacsayhuaman as more of a ceremonial centre than a fortress, the distinctive, jagged form of these outer walls possibly symbolizing the important deity of lightning.
It's quite a steep forty-minute, two-kilometre climb up to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman from Cusco's Plaza de Armas. The simplest route is up Calle Suecia, then right along the narrow cobbled street of Wayna Pata to Pumacurco, which heads steeply up to a small café-bar with a balcony that commands superb views over the city. It's only another ten minutes from the café, following the signposted steps all the way up to the ruins.