Our first visit to Machu Picchu, in November 2020, it was almost unbeatable. The fog, through which only a few rays of morning sun filtered through, dappled the ruins with a special light. The llamas and alpacas walked majestically and grazed around us. a lonely one vizcachaa species of large squirrel with large rabbit-like ears, scampered among the rocks. The fresh air of the Andes was invigorating.
But the best thing was that in most of our photos there were almost no other tourists to be seen. This was exceptional. we meet trapped in Peru during the pandemic and we patiently waited ten months in the Sacred Valley of Cusco. When local authorities began to lift restrictions, we went to visit the most iconic archaeological site in the country.
We were lucky to live an experience available to very few. More than 4000 tourists visit Machu Picchu on a normal day. The visit can be rushed and unpleasant with so many people around and the crowd makes comparison with Disneyland.
And the crowd could increase. Since January 1, the Ministry of Tourism of Peru increased the number of authorized visitors to Machu Picchu to 4,500 daily, a figure that could rise to 5,600 on specific days.
That is likely to have a negative impact on the conservation of the ruins, but amid Peru’s economic and political problems, the government is looking for a way to increase income from its main tourist attraction. It is understandable from a strictly economic point of view. The country received 2.2 million tourists in 2023, much less than the 4.6 that arrived in 2019, before the appearance of covid.
It is often said that if you can only visit one place in South America it must be Machu Picchu. But in a country full of beautiful and mysterious archaeological sites, a good tip for experienced travelers is to explore other places this year.
Waqrapukara is an option. Its appearance evokes the stories of JRR Tolkien, with its two twin peaks rising above the canyon of the Apurimac River, as if it were an orc watchtower over the lands of Mordor.
Located about 130 kilometers south east of Machu Picchuwithin the department of Cuzcothis place, whose name in Quechua means “horned fortress”is located at about 4100 meters high, 1700 meters above Machu Picchuwhich makes the views from the top a higher greatness to that of any other of the South American wonders.
And although it is about 60 kilometers from Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital and center of tourism in the area, Waqrapukara It is so far from the usual tourist circuit that until very recently it was largely unknown even to locals.
Sara Román, a business owner in Cusco, grew up in the 1980s in Sangarará, the town near Aqokunka, where the trail begins, a two- to four-hour walk, that leads to the fortress. “In Secondary School we had a history class about Peru and it covered all the cultures, the Nazca, the Moche, the Chavín, the Inca and others. The teacher mentioned that there was a place called Waqrapukara close, but that was it,” he remembers. “They never taught us anything about the importance of the place or its history. “I was curious, but never had the opportunity to go,” she adds.
Since it was barely mentioned in school, Román thought there was nothing special to see. Tourism is a recent phenomenon in the region. International travelers didn’t start arriving until the last decade. For his family and community, climbing the mountains was their job, not a recreational activity. No one went there to relax or learn about the Incas.
“I once went to Santa Lucía, a town about five kilometers south of Waqrapukara, when I was a girl, with my aunt and her donkeys to get potatoes and corn, and to sell onions, sugar and coca leaves. Now there is a road, but then there was nothing. It took up to eight hours to get there.“, Explain. So he didn’t go for the first time Waqrapukara until last year. “I loved, above all, the landscape,” she says.
As happens with other pre-Columbian sites in PeruIn reality, little is known about the place. The fortress has some undoubtedly Incan architectural elements and modifications. Some experts believe that it was originally the work of the canchis, a warrior town that prospered before the Incas, who ended up taking control of the area and Waqra Pukará. But according to Oscar Montufarfrom the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco, there are indications that its origins may be even older.
“Canchi ceramics were found dating back to around the year 800,” he indicates and adds: “But some recent studies around Waqrapukara and in the surroundings of the city of Pomocanchi they revealed a strong Wari presence.”
The place seems to have been a melting pot. “There is archaeological evidence of the Pukará culture, the oldest, of the Tiawanaku, the Wari of the Canchis and then of the Incas. The structures currently visible are from the Inca period,” says Montúfar.
believes that Waqrapukara It had no residential or military use, and emphasizes that the terraces at the bottom were used as ceremonial spaces, probably to make offerings. “When the Incas arrived they designated it a sacred place, but it was also used for rituals and pilgrimages by pre-Inca cultures,” says the expert.
Other details that suggest a possible spiritual use of the place are the door frames with triple jambs. Most Inca doors have the same trapezoidal shapebut only spaces with a religious dimension present these three frames embedded within other frames.
“This is only found in a few very important places. Not even Cuzco, Písac, Ollantaytambo or Machu Picchu have doors with triple jambs,” says Montúfar and continues: “It is only found in oldest and most ancestral sites like the Island of the Moon, where according to the myth Viracocha, the creative deity for the Incas, placed the moon above the sky of Lake Titicaca.”
Like many other sacred places in Peru, this one too is connected to Qhapaq Ñam or the Inca Traila system of roads that connected the entire Inca Empire and extended to Colombia and Argentina.
“Waqrapukara It has several archaeological sites nearby. There are cemeteries, a network of roads that connects to the Inca Trail, and petroglyphs. It is a large structure. The location grants territorial control over the entire area,” explains Montúfar. “Another interesting aspect is how The walls and terraces adapt to the rugged terrain. It’s what makes it such a beautiful image. The terraces strengthen the orography of the place and prevent erosion and possible landslides. They give stability to the flat platforms that are built on site,” he describes.
But the most characteristic aspect of the place is its “horns”, the pair of identical rock formations that tower over the fortress and make it instantly recognizable. Despite the name given to them, Montúfar explains that they are not horns at all, but probably the ears of a llama, an animal that is everywhere at the start of the Aqokunka trail. Unlike animals Machu Picchu, these were not placed in the place to please tourists; These heights of between 3500 and 5000 meters are its natural habitat.
The site visit is an unforgettable experience. It is a ten kilometer round trip, and although it is difficult to get lost because it is quite intuitive, it is very likely that do not meet any other walkersso hiring the services of a local guide is advisable.
You will find herds of llamas, Inca terraces, caves with petroglyphs, and, depending on the season, entire fields of flowers. It is a rocky, unaltered landscape of stark beauty.
“The Apurimac Canyon is super beautiful; and the road from Aqokunka, really simple. When you arrive at the archaeological site you have already done all the difficult things,” says Cass Madden, an enthusiastic hiker who has lived in Cusco for six years. However, she warns that the altitude can make things a little difficult for travelers, so she advises spending a reasonable amount of time in nearby Sangarará to acclimatize, as well as drinking coca tea and chewing the leaf of the same plant.
The most captivating moment comes when you turn a bend in the road and see the horns drawing in front. From the inside it does look like an Inca site, but from a distance, the two twin rocks are perceived as something more primitive, almost Neolithic; Of course, nothing like what visitors from other countries are used to finding in Peru.
Inside the fortress, you will find numerous fences that are a perfect window to take photos; a niche where the Inca could place a mummy that he venerated, and a rock in the shape of a mass that was used as an altar and in which the llamas, and who knows if something else, were offered in sacrifice.
Waqrapukara offers a fantastic opportunity to pitch a tent. People pay huge amounts to wake up at 4 in the morning and walk to the glow of Machu Picchu at dawn, but here You can watch the sun rise from your tent without paying anything. Although the camping area does not have many services, there is running water and some rudimentary bathrooms.
“Both the sunset and the dawn are impressive… and there is no one there!” Madden exclaims. “Being able to sleep right at the foot of Waqrapukara is pretty special,” he says.
Montúfar is hopeful that ongoing studies will allow us to know more about this place. There are also riddles to be solved about Machu Picchu, but almost no one doubts that it is an Inca construction from around 1400. The antiquity, the purpose of its construction and the identity of the original settlers of Waqrapukara remain unknown. a mystery to clear up.
To those travelers attracted by the mystical atmosphere of Machu Picchubut not because of its crowds, the horned fortress of Peru is waiting for you.
* Por Stephen K Hirst y Heather Jasper
