- Visit the Inca ruins of Tambo Machay, Puka Pukara, Quenqo and Sacsayhuamán near Cusco
- Admire Inca architecture, especially at the Sacsayhuamán ramparts
- Bring the souvenir package to the post office
Pumpernickel for breakfast, when was the last time? Plus the other purchases made yesterday evening. Then we look for a taxi, which we can deb Tambo Machay ruins moves. The water sanctuary and ritual bath for the Inca elite rises over four steps. We walk to the one almost next door Puka Pukara hunting lodge, also called the red fort. Without the appropriate information, however, this place does not look very much either - purely visually.
We walk through the following village and visit other shops with souvenirs. Then we board a public bus and drive to the next station: Qenqo. There are labyrinthine corridors between large rocks. Then we continue to the nearby Inca fortress Sacsayhuamán.
The city of Cusco was founded by the Incas in Shape of a puma built. Sacsayhuamán with its three-stage Zigzag protective wall was the head of the cat and today one of the most important sights from the Inca period. The huge stones are up to 9 m high, 5 m wide, 4 m thick and weigh over 200 tons!
Because the Incas neither wheel nor roller knew, is still puzzled about how such masses could be transported here. Behind the protective walls on the steep slope above Cusco and with a great view of the city, there were once also three towers. Unfortunately, only the foundation walls bear witness to this, as the buildings were torn down by the Spaniards and the stones were used as building material for their churches.
The Inca founded the city of Cusco around the year 1200, but for the time being remained a small regional state. Slowly but steadily, they expanded their sphere of influence by deliberately destroying any evidence of the achievements of their predecessor cultures. Under the ninth ruler Pachacútec in the middle of the 15th century, the Inca expanded their territory. As the kingdom between the Brothers Atahualpa and Huáscar in a northern and southern part divided up became, this resulted in a Civil war. After a fierce battle, Huáscar's army was defeated in 1532. He and many of his close relatives were brutally murdered.
In exactly the same year the landed Spaniard Francisco Pizarro on the Peruvian coast. This recognized them Instability of the empire and used the ensuing uprisings and their superior weaponry in his favor. And the rapidly spreading diseases brought in by the Europeans also weakened the indigenous peoples. He took Atahualpa as a hostage and demanded Ransom in the form of a 50 square meter room full of gold and silver. The entire temples and treasuries of the empire were looted and everything was melted down. Atahualpa was subsequently tried after a show trial hung and the resistance of the Incas gradually decreased.
We take a taxi back down to the center of Cusco. All the souvenirs bought in the last few days should now go to post Office. As soon as we enter the building, we are greeted by a nice kiosk operator. It packs all goods in an exemplary manner in a large box, which we label and wrap it with foil and adhesive tape. So we can get the perfect package just hand in and pay. You can tell that many tourists send souvenirs home here, whole Hordes of Israelis are here and send mountains of material. In contrast, our 6 kg box is directly light!
Now I go to the jewelry dealer, where I hand in my own hummingbird design and this will be made until we return to Cusco. Great service! Then Niki wants to look around for an Andean cross made of gold. In fact, we will find what we are looking for and can still mourn the price down a bit. For that we have to go to the bank and eat.
