It doesn’t take long before I get the urge to get back out. Only three days after returning from a couple of trips to the Urubamba Valley below Machu Picchu, I bought my train ticket to return there next Tuesday. In the afternoon I took my camera up to the spectacular site of Sacsayhuaman overlooking Cusco.
I get tired of all the mythology about Sacsayhuaman promoted by con artists seeking to books and sell outrageously expensive tours. I’ve spent a great da of time studying real archeology and science regarding not only Sacsayhuaman, but about all of both the Inca and pre-Inca civilizations in the Cusco region.
Charlatans who say there isn’t much really known about the Incas, specifically their constructions styles and methods, have either never bothered to do minimal research or are just ignorant. They make up explanations that defy logic and ignore evidence as if the Inca people themselves just suddenly disappeared one day leaving absolutely no records or evidence behind. (If you’re in Cusco, try stopping by a museum to view countless artifacts that many of these con artists say do not exist!)
All the nonsense about aliens, 10,000-year-old ancient megalithic civilizations, and rocks being turned into liquid to make them fit together are about as crazy as can be, but they make for great stories and the promoters get a ton of attention for their BS. I like to spend my time actually looking closely at what is really there rather than sitting at home making things up. And believe me, Sacsayhuaman has a lot to see!
Saturday afternoon on one of the best days in a long time meant that there were quite a few people out walking through the site and even some families picnicking in the esplanade.
So here’s a photo gallery of pictures I took yesterday. I’m not going to do a write up because I’m busy doing some research for Tuesday’s quick two day return to Machu Picchu to (hopefully) get the rest of the photos I need for the book I’m writing about Machu Picchu for people who want to avoid myths and learn some of the most interesting facts about the citadel that are almost unknown (and a couple of facts that really are new).
{As always, be sure to click on each photo to see a larger version.]
The views of Cusco near the entrance to Sacsayhuaman are spectacular. 
Yes, you have to walk up original Inca paths to see that massive walls bording the esplanade. 
The holes in so many of the stones were used to allow for wooden support beams during construction. They are common in many Inca sites. 
While many seams between the massive stones have separated thanks to about six centuries of earthquakes, many are still extremely tight. 
This is not even the largest of the incredible stones weighing as much as 300 tons! 
The obvious construction of the lower row followed by the second row is clear in this photo. 
The juxtaposition between ancient constructions and the busy modern city below is clear. 
The espanade had been closed off, but now families were out enjoying the grassy plaza on a gorgeous day. 
This very unique staircase is now closed off to vistors. 
The old water channels no longer show ehere theyh came from or where they went., but they still occupy their position in the upper section. 
Only the foundation of Muyuqmarka’s once impressive circular tower remains. 
Igelisa San Francisco and the Plaza San Francisco 
Cusco’s Plaza de Armas
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