Sacsayhuaman, Cusco (must see)

The Inca built this complex in the 1400s, probably under the famed ruler Pachacuti and his successors. It sits at an elevation of 12,142 feet above sea level overlooking the city of Cusco below.

While the structures you see now are from the 15th century, archaeological evidence suggests that the site was occupied as far back as 900 CE. This means the Killke culture first developed the site before the Inca came to the area.

According to Inca legends, the city of Cusco is the "lion city." The tail is formed where the two rivers unite, and the body is the town with its squares and houses. The Inca built Sacsayhuaman as the head of the lion. It is a fortress built on a high plateau north of town.

Spaniard Pedro Cieza De Leon wrote that the Inca ordered 20,000 men to come in from the provinces to aid in the construction of the fortress. The laborers quarried stone, hauled them with leather and hemp cables, and dug the foundations.

The center of the site was a large communal plaza. Around the plaza are three huge stone terrace walls. The stones are some of the biggest used in any pre-Hispanic buildings in the Americas, and the joinery between the stones is unmatched. The stones sit so tightly together in many places that not even a sheet of paper could be put through the gap.

After the Spanish seized Cusco, they began taking the blocks from Sacsayhuaman to build new government and religious buildings. As a result, the only stones remaining at the site today are those that were too large and too heavy for the Spanish to move easily.

The site is used today to celebrate Inti Raymi, the Inca festival of the winter solstice. Together with the city of Cusco, Sacsayhuaman is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is generally recommended to allow two or three hours to see the ruins at Sacsayhuaman. It's a spectacular site, full of history, impressive feats of stonework, and gorgeous views of Cusco below.