Cusco - Puka Pukara
Puka Pukara is located in mid-southern Peru, roughly 7 kilometers from Cusco on the road to Pisac. The fort is located on high ground overlooking the Cusco valley and Tambo Machay, creating a beautiful - and useful - view. When it was built, it was probably placed so that these areas were visible to give the military extra vision over important parts of the Inca empire. Puka Pukara was probably constructed during the reign of Pachacutec. Since he was the ninth ruler of the empire, it can be said that it was one of the later Inca constructions. The stones used to build most of the walls are very irregularly shaped, stacked together in kind of a here-and-there manner to create walls that are functional, but lacking beauty as far as architecture goes (this is in contrast to a lot of other sites in the area). It is possible that the buildings and walls were built in somewhat of a rush because the military headquarters that Puka Pukara became was thought to be needed very quickly. When it was first built, the differently sized and shaped stones that now appear grey may have actually been a red color (hence its name, red fortress) due to all the iron in the limestone used in the walls.
Cusco - Puka Pukara
Puka Pukara is located in mid-southern Peru, roughly 7 kilometers from Cusco on the road to Pisac. The fort is located on high ground overlooking the Cusco valley and Tambo Machay, creating a beautiful - and useful - view. When it was built, it was probably placed so that these areas were visible to give the military extra vision over important parts of the Inca empire. Puka Pukara was probably constructed during the reign of Pachacutec. Since he was the ninth ruler of the empire, it can be said that it was one of the later Inca constructions. The stones used to build most of the walls are very irregularly shaped, stacked together in kind of a here-and-there manner to create walls that are functional, but lacking beauty as far as architecture goes (this is in contrast to a lot of other sites in the area). It is possible that the buildings and walls were built in somewhat of a rush because the military headquarters that Puka Pukara became was thought to be needed very quickly. When it was first built, the differently sized and shaped stones that now appear grey may have actually been a red color (hence its name, red fortress) due to all the iron in the limestone used in the walls.