Tambomachay

Puca Pucara fortress on a nearby hilltop.

The archaeological site of Tambomachay is located just 8 km (15 minutes) to the northeast of Cusco and at 1 km of Puca-pucará fortress. Apparently, it was one of the favorite resting-places of the Incas, used as a resting watering place and, at the same time, it was one of the pillars of the defense system of the Valley of Cusco.

Its name derives from two Quechua words: Tampu, which means collective lodging; and Mach'ay, which means resting-place and the archeological site is composed of a set of stone structures, aqueducts and water falls originating from nearby springs and thermal source. Usually it is thought to have been related to the worship of water, one of the pillars of the Andean conception of the world and is considered one first Inca temples in the area.

Water still flows from an undiscovered source.

Also known as Incan Watering Place, Tambomachay is remarkable due to the architectonic excellence shown in its four walls or graded terraces embedded into the hill, made of irregular finely assembled carved stones. A thick, 15 meter long and 4 meter high wall is decorated with 2 meter niches. In front of the building there was a circular large fortified tower supposed have had defense and communication purpose.

Besides its impressive architecture, Tambomachay shows an extraordinary hydraulic system. Two aqueducts, carved into the rock, provide a constant flow of clean water during the whole year.

General view of Tambomachay from the former defense and communication tower.

The origin of the spring that supplies such clear and abundant water to the sources still hasn´t been discovered. Some people think that the slight slope in where the site is situated does not have the capacity to produce said water and that it must come from the opposite bank of the river.

Tambomachay is quite similar to Ollantaytambo because of its perfectly assembled stones, with carved edge and drainage gutters and its foundations seem to indicate that it was originally a closed precinct. Still, the peace of the environment, the closed space and secluded location, give Tambomachay a peculiar atmosphere while providing yet another example of impressive engineering skills of the Incas.