6 Must-See Marvels of Inca Architecture

Five hundred years after the Spanish conquest, the original inhabitants of Tawantinsuyu are still alive in the form of awe-inspiring temples, palaces, and fortresses that have stood the test of time, thanks to the Inca’s innovative architectural and engineering skills. These six sites in modern-day Peru showcase the ingenuity and meticulous work that helped the Inca build the largest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas.

Machu Picchu tops every list of must-see sites in the former Inca Empire, and for good reason—there’s no better place to be completely enchanted by the Inca’s mastery of stone masonry, their coexistence with their natural environment, and their relationship with their gods and spirits.

Most modern scholars believe Machu Picchu was built as an estate for Sapa Inca Pachucuti in the mid-15th century—and was actually called Huayna Picchu by the Inca themselves. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, many of its outbuildings, constructed of field stone, had crumbled and have since been reconstructed, but its larger buildings and temples showcasing the Inca’s expert stone masonry remained intact, as did many of the farming terraces.

Machu Picchu is nestled in the valley between two enormous mountains, often shrouded by low clouds in the morning, adding to its air of mystery. Its buildings blend neatly into the surroundings, with features like the Temple of the Condor built directly onto the rocky terrain. The Inca’s precision stone masonry, with large stone blocks fit together seamlessly using no mortar, as well as more subtle features of their architecture, like trapezoidal doors and windows, can be seen throughout the site. It also boasts an intihuatana stone, a rock sculpture researchers believe the Inca used for astronomical purposes. It aligns perfectly with the sun on solstices and likely had spiritual significance as well, connected with the worship of the sun god, Inti.

2. Sacsayhuamán

Overlooking the ancient Inca capital, Cusco, Sacsayhuamán was used as a fortress during the Spanish invasion, surrounded by a zig-zagging wall of precision-cut stone. Sadly, much of the site’s architecture was dismantled after the conquest, with the Spanish colonizers repurposing the stone for their projects. What remains, however, is still impressive, showcasing the Inca’s renowned precision stone masonry, with some impressively large stone blocks thought to weigh over 150 tons. While the site’s foundations were largely built into the existing rock, no one knows how the Inca managed to transport the enormous stone blocks there. According to Spanish chronicler Pedro Cieza de Leon, 20,000 men worked on the site, transporting the blocks with sturdy ropes.

Sacsayhuamán, which tour guides joke is loosely pronounced like the English words “sexy woman,” was also commissioned by Pachacuti, though earlier it had been in use by the Killke culture. Its distinctive zigzag shape is thought by some scholars to represent the head of a puma, a sacred animal in Incan mythology. Housing a temple to the sun, it was certainly used for religious and ceremonial purposes in addition to offering protection for thousands should Cusco come under siege. After the Spanish took hold of Cusco, Sacsayhuamán served as a base for Sapa Inca Manco Capac as he fought to regain control.

A particularly unique feature of Sacsayhuamán is the rodadero in Spanish, or suchuna in Quechua, both words meaning “slide.” A natural rock formation incorporated into the site, these grooved and polished rock slides are zipped along by tourists today—and according to Garcilaso de la Vega, a 16th-century chronicler, they were used by the Inca Empire’s children for the same purpose 500 years ago. The site also hosts the annual Inti Raymi festival, a reenactment of the Inca’s winter solstice celebration.

When the gold-hungry Spanish invaders reached Cusco, they were no doubt delighted to lay eyes on Qorikancha, a complex that included the Empire’s more important temple to the sun god Inti. Gold was not used as currency in the Inca Empire but for ornamentation and ritual purposes, particularly when honoring the sun god. His temple, it’s no surprise, had gold-plated walls, golden ornamentation throughout, and an adjoining garden full of gold animal statues. The gold was ultimately stripped, possibly to ransom Atahualpa, who the Spanish killed anyway, and the temple largely met the same fate. Most of the stone was dismantled and repurposed for new Spanish constructions, and the Convent of Santo Domingo was built on top of what was left.

What was left, however, showcases the Inca’s impeccable stonework and provides a unique, although much diminished, example of an ancient temple. From the outside, the massive stone blocks that now serve as the foundation of the convent can be observed—they have remained standing for centuries, while the convent on top has had to be rebuilt multiple times after earthquakes.

Inside, several original rooms remain and have been turned into a museum featuring many relics found during excavations at the site, including mummies. In addition to these artifacts, visitors can appreciate some of the unique elements of Inca architecture, including the trapezoidal doorways and niches that were a common feature, likely used to display the golden decorations the Spanish so coveted.

4. Ollantaytambo

In what is today referred to as the Sacred Valley, the Inca conquered a number of smaller cultures, particularly during the reign of Pachacuti, and established thriving estates at key sites to allow them to control the valley, used widely for agriculture due to its more moderate temperature and rainfall. Ollantaytambo is one such site, believed to have been occupied by the Huari for several hundred years before the dramatic expansion of the Inca Empire began. Here, the Sapa Inca built a personal estate and began constructing a temple complex. During the conquest, Ollantaytambo acted as an important stronghold for Manco Capac, who, according to Spanish sources, amassed a large army and fought back against the Spanish advance, employing a clever tactic to flood the plain below and mire the Spanish horses in mud.

Nestled between towering mountain peaks much like Machu Picchu, the Ollantaytambo complex features the Inca’s reinforced terraces and a mix of both finished and unfinished structures, providing a unique look at the processes undertaken to build such sites. A number of carved stone blocks are scattered around the base, some largely untouched, others intricately carved into precise shapes, with double jambs, suggesting further construction was underway when the site was abandoned.

A climb to the top of the steep terraces reveals the incomplete Temple of the Sun and perhaps the most well-known feature of the site, the Wall of the Six Monoliths. Enormous stone blocks standing over twelve feet tall are fitted precisely together, with no indication of how the Inca managed to get them up there. The view from the top is awe-inspiring, and also gives visitors a peek at the famous qullqas, storehouses built into the sides of the mountains, which once appeared all over the empire along the Qhapaq Nan.

Raqch’i, located about 70 miles from Cusco, was occupied by pre-Inca cultures, including the Wari, before being taken over by the Inca. The god Viracocha, a creator god worshiped by a number of pre-Inca cultures, was said to have performed a miracle here, leading its people, the Canas, to create a shrine, or huaca, to him. When Sapa Inca Huayna Capac, the last true Sapa Inca who ruled just prior to the Spanish conquest, saw the shrine and heard the story of the god’s miracle, he decided a more impressive dedication was needed and began the construction of a temple, as well as housing for religious figures similar to priests and nuns (called mamacona and yanacona).

The remains of this temple, its 45-foot-high central wall, draw a sharp contrast to other important Inca sites in the use of both stone blocks and adobe. Precision-shaped stones form a sturdy base for the adobe bricks, with both sections of the wall featuring the Inca’s distinct trapezoidal doors and windows. The remains of cylindrical columns that once supported the temple, their sturdy stone bases, can also be seen. The height of the wall is particularly noteworthy because the majority of Inca constructions were only one story—this height may have made it one of the tallest buildings in the empire.

Other structural remains in the area include round qullqas, noteworthy because they are not made in the traditional Inca shape or style. Researchers suggest they may have remained from an earlier culture and perhaps even been restored and repurposed by the Inca when the temple project began.

Choquequirao is relatively “new” in terms of tourism, but the site, often referred to as Machu Picchu’s sister city, is nearly as old as its neighboring World Heritage Site. Meaning “cradle of gold” in Quechua, researchers believe the site was integral to coca cultivation, a much-maligned plant sacred to the Inca, and may have provided refuge to the Inca resistance during the conquest. Because of its remote location, it remained “lost” for centuries, and excavations have barely scraped the surface of what archeologists believe is beneath the dense vegetation—excavations only began in the 1970s, and an estimated 30% has been uncovered.

What can be seen so far—by those willing to make the multi-day trek, as there is no road or rail access—includes temples, residences, extensive terraces, and Sunch’u Pata, a flattened hilltop ringed with stones that likely served as a ceremonial center. The materials used differ from those at Machu Picchu, ultimately impacting the architecture. What was available in the area was a more fragile rock that could not be shaped into the large stone blocks seen elsewhere in the empire.

One of the truly unique features of Choquequirao is its rock art—a whimsical contrast to the Inca’s typical staid stone structures. The site’s terraces have a series of parading camelids (llamas, alpacas, or vicuñas, all native to the region and very similar looking) built into them. Some scholars suggest this indicates that workers from the Chachapoya culture were involved in the site’s construction, as this style of rock art was unique to them at the time period. A white quartzite stone was used for this rock art, making them not only stand out but also reflect the morning sun, shining back at the Inca’s most important god.