day 13 - Cusco part 1

As the weather is nice ... I went to visit some ruins in the region of Cusco ...
The city of Cusco is build upon the ruins of the Inca-city ...

The main square ...

With it's cathedral

... nice arcades ... still with some inca-basements ...

... and wooden balcony ...

I took a collectivo to the temple who is the most highest : Tambomachay... this site was used for ritual bathing ...

... on the way to the main road ...

... and don't forert it is early spring over here ...

... from here i went on foot ... to the next one Pukapukara (the red fort) just on the other side of the road ...

which is a kind of lodging but I thimk there where also some rituals ...

some pics

then went for a big walk ... a few kilometers further down the road I saw a ruin not indicated on my maps ...

I think there are just excavated ...

and above in the rocks ...

I didn't wanted to go back to the road and make a detour, so I went directly in the direction I wanted to go ... and had a view on the main temple of Saqsayhuaman ( to pronounce sexywoman) ...

... but it took me over two hours to get there ... I visited first another little bathing-construction nearby

and then down to the main temple ... the weather was becomming a little bit clouded ...

and then  Saqsayhuaman ... amphitheater

and a few hundred meters further ... a view on the famous three walls ...

down the stairs ...

for a few looks on those walls ... representing teeths of a puma

up to the first level ...

look at the stonework ...

even the stones in the corners are rounded ...

up to the highest level ...

to see the temple still beeing excavated ...

and a view on Cusco ...

down to the lower level ...

and to the next temple ... Q'enqo

day 13 - Cusco part 2

Q'enqo

Here is the rock used as an important ritual ... blood was poured on the main stone and the direction in which the blood flooded ment good or bad future ...

of course the nobels were seated around ...

behind the roch-structure there are some tunnels and caves ...

Went afterward to another excavation futher up the hill ...

with some steps ...

to a cave ... for another rock-ritual ...

It started to rain ... so back to Cusco ...

using the Inca trail ... formely used by the messengers ...

... to find another rock-carving site with inca-habitations ...

... and further down the trail ...

Arrived at 16:00 at the hotel ... 6 hours walking, around 15km and 7 ruins ... spledid day ...

I was just in time as an hour later the rain started pouring down ... until late in the night ...

day 12 - Puno - Cusco

Had an organised bustrip from Puno to Cusco ... this bus made some interesting stops on the way ...
First stop Pukara named after the first civilisation on the altiplano. The most famous Pukara-temple is on the way to La Paz in Bolivia, but I had no time to go there ... for the next time perhaps.
We visited the museum in Pukara ...

and further we went to the pass of the altiplano ...

... in front you see the sowy peaks who allimentates a little river that passes the secret valley (see later) and joins the Amazone ... then down to the valley direction Cusco ... a little stop in a workshop ...

... where are more cuy's ... the biggest one are ready to be eaten ...

and lama and alcapa ...

from left to right ... alpaca long hair (the best for wool) , alpaca short hair and lama

I like most the alpaca short hair ... nice face ...

there was also a baby-alpaca

then further to another inca temple on the way ...

the main temple consists of one high wall in the middle ...

and colums on either side to support the roof ...

nearby are storage-silo

and habitations for nobles, priests, ...

view of the main-temple from the habitations

and a view to see the size of the main temple

Afterward direction Cusco and stop at the sixtine chapel of the Andes

a glimps of the interiour ... photo not permitted inside ... gold everywhere ...

spanisch jesuites

... an inca toll passage ...

and hop to Cusco ...

view from the room in San Blas ...

Went for dinner in a gay-friendly restaurant ...

and to bed ...