Huchuy Qosqo

Huchuy Qosqo is an archaeological site north of Cuzco, Peru. Its name is Quechua for "Little Cuzco." It lies at an elevation of 3,600 meters (11,800 feet), above the 3000-meter high town of Lamay and the Sacred Valley. The site received its name in the 20th century; previously it had been known as Kakya Qawani. Pedro de Cieza de León, in his Second Chronicle of Peru, claimed that the palaces were built by Viracocha, the Eighth Inca ruler. Amongst a large number of buildings, some stone, some adobe, is a kallanka (great hall), 40m long. Providing water to the site is an Inca built irrigation channel, lined with stones for about 800m.

The Spanish took control of Huchuy Quosqo in the 1500s, after the Manco Inca Revolution (approx. 1540) and used the site as a farm. The Quechuas constructed several small reservoirs for irrigation. During their time at Huchuy Quosqo the Spanish demolished some other Inca structures to build the larger reservoir you see today.

Below the main Huchuy Quosqo site is the recently restored store house for dried meat and crops such as corn, potatoes, quinoa, and beans. In this two story structure, you can see the historic cooling storage system known as ´conjeras.´

This site is inaccessible by public road and only accessible by a physically strenuous hike or on horseback. The two main access points by foot are from Lamay — 3 hours up a steep set of switchbacks — or from Tauca, Peru — about 4 - 6 hours on foot, the first third of the hike steadily increasing to a pass at 4400m, then mostly downhill, and visiting some other ruins. The 2 day route from Tauca to Lamay is described in Peter Frost's "Exploring the Cusco". A number of tour groups also lead two-day hikes or horseback trips to Huchuy Qosqo.

Sources

Although not directly accessible by road, a dirt road leaving Lamay runs a long set of switch backs and arrives at a viewpoint of the ruins. The walk from this viewpoint to the north entrance of the ruins is about 150m, and runs past a few houses inhabited by local farmers. The entrance fee for this national park is 22 Peruvian soles for adults, 10 for students, and free for Peruvian citizens with official vertification(DNI), which will be collected by the two groundskeepers which permanently reside near the ruin entrance.

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Coordinates: 13°21′59″S 71°56′42″W / 13.3663°S 71.9451°W / -13.3663; -71.9451

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