Sayaqmarka

This ruin is located on a ledge with a very steep cliff on all sides.

image

It has a fountain system that runs around the outside in the wall in a narrow channel.

image

The aquaduct system that supplied the fountain is carved into the mountain and goes for over a mile to find a spring.

image

The purpose of this ruin is unknown. There is no farming anywhere nearby (other than the tiny Qunchamarka), and water had to be brought in from miles away, so it seems like an odd location.  It probably served an administrative purpose.

image

It also probably served as a place for travellers to stop for the night. The only load bearing animals available to the Incans were llamas, which can carry 10kg to 20kg (less than a porter!) but only for about 25km. Therefore they had to build places to stay  overnight every 25km along the trail.

image

This rock has a hole carved in it to hold water. It was probably used as a mirror or a level.

image

Because it is surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides with only one entrance, it probably worked as a fortress in times of war.

image

But several of the large rooms would have had to store food, and none seem to have the ventilation required.

image

This giant rock probably served some kind of ceremonial purpose, but the masonry around it is the cheap kind so it couldn’t have been a very important temple.

image

The site was huge with several levels built into the mountain top.

image

The doorways had holes for posts to hold the doors shut.

image

The site is so high up it is lost in clouds most of the time.

image