Quenko (Q'enqo) is a short drive from Cusco, very close to Sacsayhuaman. It is a small site where ancient Peruvians from around 1500 AD used outcropping of natural rock and made sculptures with imported stones. It is said that Quenko is a temple dedicated to the Puma which in ancient Peruvian times symbolized life. In the Quechua language, Quenko means ‘labyrinth’ or ‘zigzag’. To the naked eye, Quenko looks like a bunch of rocks. Quenko is a site you should visit with a guide to understand what you are seeing. It has a number of carvings, holes and canals built in rock for ceremonies. Our guide explained some of the more important places in this site. There is a place where there is a bare polished rock and there are two cylinders coming out of it. This we were told may have been used to calculate the sun’s position. It was called the Intihuatana or the place where the sun is tied. It may also have been used as an astronomical observatory to calculate solstices and equinoxes. Additionally, at this site they may have worshipped the sun, moon, and other celestial objects. Close to the Intihuatana is a zigzagging gutter. It starts as a small hole and travels down a chute. It separates and one of the branches goes to the underground chamber or sacrifice room. The chute may have transported the blood of llamas or chicha as a offering for the gods. There is an underground room with floors, walls, tables and a ceiling. The guide said the purpose of the room was unknown. However, theories say it could have been a place for secret rites, a place for sacrifices or a place to embalm noblemen. The amphitheater is a large semicircular area carved in natural stone. At the center of the room may have been a puma that was destroyed. This may have been a place where ancient Incas preformed public ceremonies. You can take a four hour tour to visit this site and others from Cusco for around $10. Use your $20 tourist ticket to get into this site as well as 15 other historical sites.

 

 

 

 

This is part of the astronomical portion of Q'enqo.

 

 

 

Entrance with the mummy table off to the right.

 

 

 

Located at Q'enqo, this mummy table is in a small cave formed by hugh boulders and bedrock.  This table was used for the preparation of mummys, some of which were found lower in the "cave". 

 

 

 

 

Blanco Christo or White Christ statue was erected overlooking the city of Cuzco at about 14,600 feet above sea level.  Located in the area of Sacsayhuman - the temple to Mother Earth.  It was comon for the early Catholic Church to erect churches and statues on sites that were sacred to earler religious cultures.

 

 

 

The Temple of Sacsayhuaman is not far from the Blanco Christo.  It was built from huge stones meant to impress visitors with the Inca's ability.  The zigzag main wall was designed to look like a lightening bolt to honor of one of the Inca's gods - Lightening.

 

 

 

A view of part of the City of Cuzco.  Built in a valley in the Andes, Cuzco is layed out like a Puma with Sacsayhuaman as the head of the puma.  In the middle of the picture is the Plaza de Armas with its two main churches.

 

Within the past year tunnels have been found under the cathedral that run to Sacsayhuaman.  According to several accounts, these tunnels run throughout the Andes and even out under the Pacific Ocean to the Galapagos Islands.

 

 

 

A night time view of Cuzco with the Plaza de Armas and its churches well lighted.  Cuzco is about 14,200 feet above sea level plus or minus as the streets go up and down the mountainside.

 

 

The Temple of the Sun (Koricanca) was located in Cuzco.  The Catholic Church build a church and a convent on the site and incorporated parts of the temple into the design of the convent.  The main gold storehouse of the Incas was the Temple of the Sun.  All the gold that was built up here over a hundred years was emptied by Pizaro in a month.

 

 

 

An example of the masonary craftmanship in the Temple of the Sun.  All stone blocks were carved so that no mortar was necessary.  The weight of the stones and pegs and notches carved into the blocks hold them together.

 

 

 

Another example of the craftsmanship in the Temple of the sun.  The stonework is worn from everyone touching it to see how fine the joints are.

 

 

 

The trapezoidal windows and nitches are characteristic of Incan architecture.  The window in this wall in the Temple of the Sun aligns perfectly with windows in successive walls.  Again you can see the craftsmanship in constructing these walls.

 

 

 

 

At the end of the Sacred Valley of the Incas lays Ollantaytambo.  This terraced area is across from a sacred mountain with the face of a god in the cliff face.  Crops were grown on the terraces and stored for the god in buildings high on the mountainside.  The next season the grain and crops stored was returned to the fields and plowed under serving as fertalizer, thus completing the cycle of life.

 

 

 

Here you can see the mountain across from the previous pcture.  You can also see a couple of the storage buildings for the crops.  The face of the god does not show up very well - it is in the light area to the left of the larger rectangle storage building on the right. You may be able to make out the angled shadow of an eye and the shadow of the mouth.  When the lighting is right you can clearly see a very mean looking face with eyes, nose and a mouth with an evil grin.  A head dress sits atop the head.  I have a better picture showing a closeup of the face which I will post when I find it.

 

 

 

This is a view from inside one of the storage buildings across from the face.  In the distance you can see a series of nitches four terraces up by the top that probably held effiges of gods.

 

 

 

Here you see a better view of the terraces.  In the distance you can see the series of nitches and the steps leading up the terraces.  There is a person on the steps about an inch above the bottom and 3/4 inch from the left side that shows how huge this place really is.  Believe me it was one heck of a climb and the elevation is only about 12,000 feet above sea level so it was a tad easier to navigate than Cuzco at over 14,000 feet.

 

 

 

A view from near the top.  You can see the "modern" day village in the background with the older part of the village behind it out of the picture.

 

 

 

 "Sitting" on top of the light block is the face of the god on the face of the mountain in the distance. Again you can see the craftsmanship.  It is amazing how they brought such huge stones up the side of this mountain to top this area.  The village is framed in the doorway.

 

 

 

This is one of the ancient allys or passageways between the buildings in the village.  Notice the drainage built in down the center of the passage and alongside the road.

 

 

 

A typical kitchen in the village.  Notice the guinnea pigs in the foreground.  No - they are not the family pets!

 

 

 

 

The end of the Inca Trail through the Andes mountains brings you to Machu Picchu.  The mountain on the far side (Huayna Picchu) has a trail to the top also.  I did not climb up there, but a young buddy did. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are llamas grazing about Machu Picchu.  I was chatting with some tourmates and they started staring over my head.  I truned around to mind myself face to face with one.  I mean close enough to kiss.

 

 

I had a hard drive crash.  When I can retrieve the pics from my backup media I will post more.  Until then I have posted the link below to a slideshow of pictures from most of the places I have visited.  Great shots, please check out all three parts.

 

 Peru Oct 2006 - Part 1 

 

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