Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On the hill, to the north-east of the town, is the old Inca fortress, Sacsaihuaman, and in the
vicinity there are several other important ruins. Enormous boulders form the walls of the fort-
ress.Butfewofthesehugeblockswerecutsquare,andyetallweremadetofitintoeachother.
Wallswereconstructedinasimilarway,thestonesusedbeingofallshapesandsizesandwith
intricate curves and angles, yet all shaped to fit into each other so perfectly that it would be
impossible to introduce the blade of a knife between them. Near the fortress there are other
ruins, a peculiar relic among them being the
rodadero
, which somewhat resembles a 'shoot'
cut out of the rocky slope, similar to those sometimes seen in amusement parks; whether the
Incas (or pre-Incas) used it for the purpose of sliding down is uncertain. On another hill, not
far from the
rodadero
is what is said to have been the Inca's throne, and in other places seats
were hewn in the rocks, and so arranged as to lead one to believe that they are places where
the ancients held council.
Another relic is known as 'The bath of the Inca,' but I am afraid all the theories and sup-
positions about these remains will never be proved, and the early history of the Incas and pre-
Incaswillforeverremainamystery.Thuswehavetobecontentwithallthebeautifullegends
and tales that have been handed down by word of mouth from one generation to another.
There are other important ruins in the close vicinity of Cuzco, the most interesting being
those of Ollantaytambo and Pisacc (or Fisac), but these were much more difficult to reach,
especially the latter, which are on a high and precipitous mountain peak in a side valley, a few
hours from the town. Pisacc is believed to have been an observatory, and from there one has
a marvellous view of the valley below. I went with a group of tourists, but none of my com-
panions were able to climb more than halfway up the steep trail that winds towards the peak,
the rarefied air making further progress impossible, so they sat down until I returned, loaded
like a burro with their cameras, which I had carried with me to take some pictures for them.
Indian children, dressed in their picturesque costumes, were herding goats among the ruins,
and soon I was so friendly with these hardy children of the mountains that they allowed me to
photograph them.
The remains of a sun-dial can still be seen, this primitive instrument having been hewn
out of rock. Things that have always puzzled archaeologists and scientists are the small water
canals that exist in some Incaic ruins, even up on high mountains, as is the case in Pisacc.
How water was brought up in sufficient quantity to justify the building of these small canals
has never yet been satisfactorily explained.
OnAllSaints'DayImadeashorttripbytraintoseesomeofCuzco'ssurroundings.Every-
whereInoticedpeoplesellingandeatingsucking-pigs.Evenatthedifferentstationsmanyleft
the train to buy pieces of this meat from vendors who were hustling among the crowd. Even
thepoorpeoplewhotravelledintrucksorontheroofsoftherailwaywagonsclimbeddownto
buy themselves chunks of sucking-pig. In the evening I arrived back in town, and there also I
saw the same meat being sold and wondering what the meaning of it all was I made enquiries
and was told that it is an old custom for everybody to eat this delicacy on All Saints' Day.
