Full Day Tour Waqrapucara

USEFUL INFORMATION

TYPE OF TOUR: Trekking.
PLACES TO VISIT: Waqrapukara.
TOUR DURATION: 01 Day.
AVAILABILITY: All year round.
MAXIMUM ALTITUDE: 4300mt.
DIFFICULTY: Moderate.
Price: $ 75 USD per person

Waqrapukara It is a fortress of pre-Inca and Inca construction. In Pre Inca times it was a small citadel, for this reason they called it “Llaqta Pukara” where the leader Qanchi and his family lived, also used as an astronomical observatory; it had a sanctuary to the God Teqci Pachakamaq Wiraqocha.

Our Waqrapukara 1 Day tour; will take you to one of the ancient Inca temples located in the Andes mountain range in Cusco, this fortress is built on top of one of the steepest mountains, this trekking experience will also immerse you in an area where travelers do not usually go. This great trek to Waqrapukara takes you outside of the traditional treks in Cusco.

This archaeological center is a mixture of pre-Inca and Inca construction, therefore it was built by the Qanchi ethnic group and at the time of the Incas probably built in the period of the Inca Wayna Khápaq government considered as a fortress.

Waqrapukara Cusco is a new tourist attraction whose mysteries have not yet been deciphered and that allows a magnificent view of the night sky, populated by constellations, planets and stars of enormous value in the Inca cosmovision; Fortress, sanctuary, astronomical observatory are the interpretations of this enigmatic monument of the classic Inca architecture that is located at 4, 300 meters above sea level, in the abysses of the Apurimac River Canyon, south of the city of Cusco.

WAQRAPUCARA 1 DAY TOUR ITINERARY

Day 1: Cusco – Chuquicahuana – Acomayo – Acos – Waqrapukara – Cusco

Very early in the morning, around 03:30 a.m., we will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco to head southeast of the city to the town of Acomayo where we will stop for a succulent local breakfast.
Immediately after we will continue our trek to the point where we will start walking for approximately 3 hours at an altitude of 12 000 feet passing through the Cusco grasslands to our final destination: The ancient Inca fortress of Waqrapukara, approximately 11:00 Hrs.
After a short rest we will have enough time to visit and learn more about this mystical and religious archaeological site.
At about 13:30 Hrs, after a comforting lunch, we begin our descent, the private transportation will be waiting for us to finally arrive to Cusco around 19:00 Hrs. Travelers who make the tour to Waqrapukara should be in good physical condition and with good acclimatization to the altitude, we suggest doing this trek after your trip to Machu Picchu.

What will we see in the Waqrapukara 1-day tour?

Incredible mountain scenery
Beautiful rock formations
Great views of the sacred mountains
Flora and wildlife
Visiting local villages

Recommendations before our Hike to the Inca fortress of Waqrapukara Cusco

You will have a full briefing with your guide 1 or 2 days before your tour to Waqrapukara. Your guide will meet you at your hotel and you can take this opportunity to ask questions and make any final preparations.

What does our 1 day Waqrapukara Tour include?

What is not included in our one day tour to Waqrapukara

Drinks and snacks
Tips
Horse
Travel insurance.

What should we bring to the Waqrapukara Cusco Tour?

Personal medication for the altitude.
Clothing (warm jacket / winter jacket, rain pants, hiking boots, poncho, winter hat, gloves, wool hat with ear muffs).
Water 2 liters per person minimum.
Snacks, Chocolate, Fruit, Coke, etc.
Toiletries (toilet paper, personal towel).
Sun block, factor 50+ is recommended
Sunglasses and sun hat
Camera
Binoculars
Trekking poles (recommended especially for steep descents, you can rent it with us)
Extra money. If you want to rent a horse.

It is an archaeological complex of pre-Hispanic constructions, with the technology of Mauk’allaqta and Inca architecture. Located in the district of Pomacanchi, province of Acomayo, department of Cusco, Peru. Geographically, this archaeological monument is located at the following coordinates:

LATITUDE SOUTH : 10° 01′ 24″.
LONGITUDE EAST : 71° 41′ 05″.
ALTITUDE : 4, 140 m.a.s.l.

This archaeological complex called Waqrapukara. According to the researcher Dr. Victor Angles Vargas, the Quechua word Waqrapukara, etymologically comes from two words, waqra means horn and the word pukara means fortress or barracks. In short, this word waqrapukara means fortress in the shape of a horn. It was a residence of the nobility of this place; with astronomical observatories and at the same time it was a religious center protected with watchtowers and subway paths.

Other researchers conclude that the nobility of the Inka Qanchi lived in this area. In this regard we have found in our research, a publication by Aurelio Luna Villena with the name of Anecdotario de Pomacanchi, where he tells us, testimonies received from the Machu Qanchis, which from generation to generation, have been transmitted and tells us as follows: “The legendary General T’ito Qosñipa, in the army of the Inca Wayna Qhapaq, achieved the high awards as general of the conquering armies of the Empire of Tawantinsuyo. In use of his vacations he came to his tribe Qanchi, stimulated by magnificence of the Imperial Court considering distant and remote the possibility of occupying the Inca throne for his condition of plebeian, arose in his audacious mind, to overthrow the ruler of the Inca empire, with such purpose he ordered to build in secret the Fortress of Waqrapukara, so that in case of failure of his revolutionary adventure he could take refuge and resist any attack of the imperial army.

T’ito Qosñipa, proclaimed Inka of the Qanchis, organized an army, which then headed towards Cusco. The Ruler of the Empire of Tawantinsuyo, informed by the subversive activities of T’ito Qosñipa, sent a part of his army to unveil the movement, commanded by General Anqoayllo. Both armies met on the slopes of the Phiñaypampa hill, in the proximities of Corma. After a bloody and bloody battle the hosts of T’itto Qosñipa were defeated”.

As a testimony of this fact, there are still human skeletal remains in the place of the battle. T’ito Qosñipa the Inka Qanchi, after the battle of Phiñaypampa, with the rest of his soldiers, returned to Waqrapukara. The troops of general Anqoayllo pursued the fugitives and surrounded the fortress of Waqrapukara with violent attacks. When the soldiers of the aforementioned general went up to the fortress, they were thrown into the ravine as they climbed, through the gates to the abyss, at present there are remains of these doors. After fifteen days of resistance to the imperial Inca army, they discovered the water channel that supplied the fortress, they cut this water service to the army of the Inka Qanchi, for this reason he had to capitulate with General Anqoayllo.

T’ito Qosñipa was taken prisoner with a hundred of his Qanchi soldiers before the Inka Ruler of the Empire. Wayna Qhapaq, knowing the reckless courage of the young warrior T’ito Qosñipa, seeing that he would be useful in his conquests spared his life and made him marry a ñusta chosen by the Inca Qanchi in Cusco. His soldiers were also amnestied, they returned to their Qanchi tribe, with the promise to be loyal to the empire. But the ears of the hundred Qanchi soldiers were cut off. From then on they were called mottoqanchis.

In the future, in the conquest of more Inca territories towards Ecuador by Wayna Qhapaq; this warrior T’ito Qosñipa fought with the brave Kañaris. For the triumph of the imperial Inca, two thousand Kañari warriors were brought from the imperial guard, escorting the victor Wayna Qhapaq. Some of these brave Kañari warriors were also taken to the tribe of the Qanchis by T’ito Qosñipa; for this reason the Cañari surname also exists today in Pomacanchi.

According to Jorge Leonidas Delgado Vargas, before having their ears cut off, the Qanchis soldiers of T’ito Qosñipa danced the dance of the Qanchis, by order of the Imperial Inca. This dance called Qanchi Tusuy is practiced today in Cusco, especially by the Qanchis of the nineteenth century. From that date they were called Mot’oqanchis, the soldiers of the Inka Qanchi. But since colonial times it remains as Mot’oqanchi surname, at present the descendants of such a valiant warrior, we find Mottoccanchi in the ayllu of Qanchoqa, District of Pomacanchi. (A. H. C. Qanchi Runa).