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The Ruins at Puka Pukara (near Cusco)

The day after we arrived at Cusco, Peru, we went on a tour of the area surrounding the city to check out some ruins that are relatively close to the city.  Interestingly, in the times of the Inca’s, they would built one of these areas every 20 miles or so to allow their armies or supply lines to have a safe place to rest at the end of each day.  Today, they are only about 20 minutes or so from the city!

Puka Pukara Ruins

This was our first view of the ruins and I was struck by how beautiful the rocks of the remaining ruins looked against the lush green of the surrounding landscape.

Puka Pukara Ruin Wall

One of the most amazing thing about the ruins was that when the Incas built them, they did not use any metal tools, so the rocks were formed by pounding on them with other rocks.  When you look at how close the rocks fit into each other, it’s almost unbelievable.

Thru the Window

I love the look of this image – the detail of the rocks, how the window frames a scene within the photo, hills (mountains?) in the background, just everything1

A Walk Thru the Ruins

In this image, I wanted to capture how well planned the “rooms” in this structure were.  Quite amazing, considering that this was built prior to 1536AD, when the Incas ceased to exist (they were conquered by the Spanish).

Outline of Foundations

Here’s another look at the foundations of the various rooms within the ruins.  You can still get an idea of how well-planned out things were.

Looking Down on the Ruins

I thought this was another good view of the overall layout of the ruins.  The organization of it is really cool, I think.  More to come!

Enjoy!