Tambomachay

Tambomachay is a small ceremonial site built into a hillside at about 3,700 metres, and it is entirely about water. Terraced walls of fine masonry step up the slope with trapezoidal niches, and a spring feeds channels that emerge as spouts into stone basins - two of the jets split from a single source and are calibrated closely enough that they still run at almost identical rates, which is the detail guides point out and which is genuinely impressive. The name is usually rendered as resting place cavern, and it is often called the Baño del Inca, the Inca's bath, though what took place here was more likely ritual water worship than bathing. It is the last stop on the circuit of sites above Cusco and takes half an hour, with the walk in from the road passing through a small market.

What you actually see

• The fountains - spouts feeding stone basins from a spring above.
• The paired jets - two flows split from one source, still running at matched rates.
• The masonry - fine terraced walls with trapezoidal niches.
• The name - the Inca's bath, though water ritual is the more likely function.

When to go

April to October. Twenty to forty minutes, paired with Puka Pukara opposite. Early to avoid the coach groups.

Honest expectations

Very small - a few minutes of actual looking. At 3,700 metres, higher than Cusco, and cold. Persistent sellers on the path from the road. Crowded when several groups arrive at once.

Nearby

Puka Pukara is across the road; the circuit continues down to Qenqo and Sacsayhuamán.