Puka Pukara

Puka Pukara means red fortress in Quechua, from the colour the limestone takes in low sun, and the name has fixed a military reading on it. The structure - terraces, enclosures, staircases, niches and a small plaza on a rise beside the road to Písac - is more plausibly a tambo, a waystation and checkpoint on the route out of the capital, perhaps with a role in controlling access and lodging travellers and their llama trains. It faces Tambomachay across the road, and the two are always visited together. The masonry is rougher than the ceremonial work in Cusco, fieldstone rather than fitted ashlar, which suits a functional building. It takes twenty minutes to walk around and is the shortest stop on the standard circuit, though the view back down towards the Cusco valley is good.

History

The name means "red fortress", probably from the colour of the rock at dusk. The site was probably built under Pachacutec, with walls of irregular stones rather than fine masonry, and its purpose is debated: a military post, a checkpoint on the road into the empire, or a stop for travelling groups (Wikipedia, Puka Pukara).

What to look for

• The enclosures - terraces, staircases and niched rooms on a low rise.
• The rough masonry - fieldstone construction rather than fitted ceremonial work.
• The red colour - the tone the stone takes in low sunlight, and the source of the name.
• The valley view - back down towards Cusco from the terraces.

When to go

April to October. Late afternoon light brings out the red in the stone. Twenty to forty minutes, always with Tambomachay opposite.

Before you go

Small and quick - it is the least substantial of the four sites above Cusco. The fortress label is probably wrong. At 3,700 metres beside a busy road. No shade.

Nearby

Tambomachay is directly across the road; Qenqo and Sacsayhuamán are back towards Cusco.

Key facts