Pre-Inca Piquillaqta

This is an expansive city, built in the pre-Inca period by the Wari people. There are two parts to this archeological site, one being the city and the second being the Inca gate. René Pilco Vargas is part of a family of archeologists and his relative Remy Pilco has worked for years as an archeologist at Piquillaqta. According to archeological studies, the site that we see today as an empty city, was full of buildings up to three stories high. Horizontal ladders were used to link upper floors of adjacent buildings.

 In Quechua llaqta is a town. Piqui means flea. This could have been a condescending Inca name for a place that they conquered but then didn’t use much. The architecture of the town of Piquillaqta is much more primitive than Inca architecture, which would have been typical of Wari builders. 

600 year old plaster

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Ancient adobe

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

However, the Inca gate that is just south of the Wari town is classic Inca construction with massive stones that fit together perfectly. The Inca gate protects the Cusco valley from invasion from the south. Any travelers coming from the southern parts of Tahuantinsuyu, in what is now the Lake Titicaca region, Bolivia and Chile, would pass through this Inca gate.

The Inca gate guards the Cusco valley from anybody coming from the south.

This archeological site is included in any “Valle Sur” tour. There is an entrance and guard house at the main archeological site, but not at the Inca gate. The main archeological site is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the entrance ticket is part of the BTC. Some of the dirt and gravel trails are wheelchair accessible.