Inca Architechture

Inca Architecture

Pachacuti the Sapa Inca and ruler of all the Incas built the incredible complex of Machu Picchu. As Pachacuti was quiet a macho man, for after he named himself Sapa Inca, he drank out of the skull of the pitifully defeated Chanca leader, he made sure that the city reflected his power and reverence to the Gods. The Incas built a 15,000 mile road called the Inca trail in order to communicate from this city center to the other colonies.

Mapi

Inca trail

The architecture in Machu Picchu continues to astound visitors. The stones for the entire complex were cut so intricately and finely that even today, the stones remain solid and together, so neatly arranged that it is difficult to slide a piece of paper in between the stones. All the buildings in Picchu abide by classic Inca architecture. For instance, the buildings have irregular walls, gates are in trapezoidal shape and niches and sculptures are used as part of the architectural design and decoration.

The urban center of Machu Picchu is separated in two sections. The first section is split into 5 compounds in the south. The Main Entrance offers a great vantage point to the rest of the city, displaying the south side with 5 distinct compounds and the north part with 22 sites within. The second compound, Sunturhuasi 9, displays a crescent-shaped site with an impressive decorated window. There is also a Royal Tomb at this site.

Royal Tomb

Machu Picchu is also famed as a citadel of the platforms, stairways and water fountains. There are more than a hundred stairs, some with a hundred steps or more. In the northwestern section of Machu Picchu, there remain 17 springs arranged delicately so to direct water to flow smoothly from the top section to the lower section of the compound. This compound was believed to have served as the royal housing with 12 compounds and 2 courtyards for the llamas and gardens.

The Incas were obsessed with symmetry. All the homes in Machu Picchu were shaped like pentagonal prisms and did not have roofs. The complexity of this mammoth design is spectacular even amidst today’s skyscrapers and towers.

This blog has been witten by Free Tours by Foot Cusco