Saqsaywaman

The Killke culture built here before the Inca. Pachacuti transformed the site beginning in 1438, creating a ceremonial complex over a century of construction. The 1536 battle, Spanish dismantling, and Inti Raymi revival have shaped its subsequent history.

Before the Inca, the Killke culture recognized the sacred significance of this promontory overlooking the Valley of Cusco. They built structures that would later be incorporated into Inca construction.

Around 1438 CE, Pachacuti began the transformation of Sacsayhuaman into the ceremonial center that would crown his sacred capital. Construction continued under his successors for approximately one hundred years, employing more than 20,000 workers at a time.

The engineering defies easy explanation. Without wheel, lever, or draft animals, workers moved stones weighing up to 125 tons from quarries to building site. They fitted these massive blocks so precisely that mortar was unnecessary. The zigzag walls—perhaps representing lightning, perhaps serving defensive purposes—stretched over 540 meters with walls reaching 18 meters high.

In 1536, Sacsayhuaman became a battlefield. Manco Inca, leading the Inca resistance, fortified the site against Hernando Pizarro's forces. The battle was fierce and bloody—one of the last major engagements of the Inca resistance. The Spanish prevailed, and soon began dismantling the complex, using its perfectly shaped stones to build colonial Cusco.

By the modern era, only a fifth of the original complex remained. In 1983, UNESCO recognized both Cusco and Sacsayhuaman as World Heritage Sites. Since 1944, the Inti Raymi has been revived each June 24, returning sun worship to the site where it was practiced for centuries before the conquest.