Saqsaywaman

About five minutes away from Cristo Blanco is the more popular tourist attraction called Saqsaywaman. These Inca ruins are known for its pattern of massive rocks on each corner. The Inca empire worshiped several animals just as the civilizations before the actual empire. The Puma is one of the most sacred animals and it is believed that the architecture of Saqsaywaman was in the shape of one. The ruins have been researched and reported as a fortress to protect the capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco.

The Incan architects were some of the best ones this world has had in the sense on how they found a way to place rocks on top of another perfectly with no paste. Each structure is strong and you can't place your finger in between any rocks. The first lesson in Incan architecture that every tourist must know that whenever you find ruins that have very smooth rocks and placed in balanced or even perfect symmetry, then that means the place was very special and most probably a religious temple. So the symmetry in these ruins places a clue that there was a religious presence in Saqsaywaman. There has been indications that Saqsaywaman was a place where the Incas would sacrifice a llama to the Gods during the dry season to please them and receive rain. It is a practice and now tradition still carried on by locals of Cusco that once a year during their holiday of Corpus Cristi a llama is sacrificed in front of a crowd.

In the end, Saqsaywaman is a very nice way to start out your first visit to Cusco. It is not too far from the city and its close to two more tourist attractions (Cristo Blanco and Qenqo). When you buy your tourist ticket, it will allow you to get into several tourist locations during a nine day span. Prices vary for adults, Peruvians, visitors and students. In a separate post I will explain all the details on how to go about getting your Tourist Ticket for Cusco.