Intiwatana de Pomacocha

Intiwatana sits above the small lagoon of Pomacocha near Vischongo, and it is a royal Inca complex rather than an administrative one: terraces stepping down to the water, a palace building with fine coursed masonry and double-jambed doorways, a bath fed by channels with carved stone spouts, and a carved outcrop - the intiwatana, the stone associated with solar observation, of the type famously present at Machu Picchu. There is also a fifteen-sided stone in one wall, of the kind Cusco makes much of. The quality of the stonework is the surprise: this is Cusco-grade construction in a part of Ayacucho almost nobody visits, reached on the same road as Vilcashuamán and the Titankayocc puya stands. The lagoon below has waterbirds, and the setting is quiet. It is normally seen as one stop on a long day out from Ayacucho.

What you actually see

• The palace - fine coursed masonry with double-jambed doorways.
• The baths - channels and carved spouts feeding stone basins.
• The carved stone - the intiwatana outcrop and a fifteen-sided wall block.
• The lagoon - Pomacocha below the terraces, with waterbirds.

When to go

May to September. One to two hours, combined with Vilcashuamán and the Titankayocc puya forest on the same long day from Ayacucho.

Honest expectations

Three to four hours from Ayacucho each way on rough road. Very little interpretation on site. At around 3,300 metres and cold. Facilities in Vischongo are basic.

Nearby

Vilcashuamán is south; Titankayocc and its puya stands are close to Vischongo.