Raqchi 1 Day

It is located in a place very close to the Community of Raqchi, located in the district of San Pedro, Province of Canchis, the department of Cusco. Is on the right bank of the Vilcanota River, a distance of 118 kilometers southeast of the city of Cusco. Its altitude is 3.480 meters above sea level.

For the traveler it is easy to get to this amazing place, as using the road from Cusco to Puno (about 3 hours) where there is a deviation of only a mile, there is a sign that allows the exactly location.

Most of its territory is occupied by a large amount of lava turned into rocks, caused by the eruption of Kinsachata and the rest of its territory was used for agriculture.

This is a small town with about 80 homes, whose residents lead a precarious life producing pottery and farming for their family consumption, there is a Folk Festival celebrated every year performing every third Sunday in June, where presentation made numerous dances from different places, with their typical clothes.

According to recent research, the aforementioned archaeological park has an area of about one thousand acres, because out of the massive Inca wall that protects the park, there are also some buildings such as aqueducts, underground tombs and enclosures pre-Inca culture.

The complex was built in different periods. One sector was built during the reign of Viracocha Inca, reported by the chronicler Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Later another stage was built between 1439 and 1471, during the reign of Pachacutec, and finally the third stage was built, according to Cieza de Leon, the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, between 1471 and 1493.

Among its functions, highlight the religious, since it has a sanctuary or place of pilgrimage to worship Viracocha, who was regarded as the supreme god, creator of the sun, a moon, stars, animals, plants and humans. Administratively, Raqchi is strategically located on the border of two large regions, the Quechua and the Aymara (Cusco and Collao).

It was a storage center of food from different places, existing in complex, large textiles and ceramics workshops.

On the military side, the existence of the house of the chasquis and the massive Inca wall that protects the archaeological site mentioned, suggests that it was used both as a center of Inca messages and for the imperial army training.

We recommend you visit this impressive citadel, inherited from our ancestors, unlike many other archaeological sites, was built on a foundation of stone, with stone walls and mud that inexplicably is not much visited by the little publicity it receives.