CUSCO - CUZCO

Call our TOLL FREE numbers:
USA: 1-888-317-3383 - UK: 0-800-097-1749
Business Hours: Monday to Friday: 9 am - 6 pm / Peruvian Time Zone: GMT -5 hours

UK toll free number is temporary out of service.
Please be so kind to contact us by clicking here

Cusco Attractions

Cusco Mansions

Cusco Churches

Cusco Museums

Cusco
Art

Cusco Restaurants

Cusco Adv. Sports

Cusco
Related Articles

Cusco Nights

Cultural Cusco

Festivities in Cusco

Tours in Cusco

Cusco
Gastronomy

Cusco Pictures

ARCHITECTURE

CUSCO

Cusco Home Page

Cusco Site Map

Cusco Pictures & Photos

Our Offices

Cusco Surroundings

- Sacsayhuaman
- Ollantaytambo
- Chincheros
- Kenko
- Pisac
- Aguas Calientes
- Sacred Places
- Sacred Valley
- Paucartambo
- Tambomachay
- Yucay
- Andahuaylillas
- Pikillacta
- Puca Pucara
- Suchuna or Rodadero
- Sabacurinca
- Raqchi
- Tipon
- Circuits
- More Destinations
- Inca Trail

Cusco Historic Information

- History of Cusco
- Tahuantinsuyo
- Cusco Planification
- Cusco Architecture
- Description of The Inca
City
- Inca Center

Cusco Useful Information

- Location of Cusco
- Weather in Cusco
- Services of Cusco
- Money in Cusco
- Comunications in
   Cusco
- Transportation in
   Cusco
- Health
- Phones and
   Addresses

ENJOY CORPORATION
Main Headquarters
Schell 343 - Of. 607
Miraflores - Lima 18
PERU
Tel: +51 1 702-2000
Fax: 511-445-1750

TOLL FREE numbers:
SPAIN: 800-007-222
USA: 1-888-317-3383
UK: 0-800-097-1749


P E R U

CUSCO PICTURES

SPANISH VERSION

ARCHITECTURE

With regard to the walls, during the Incan period there were five basic models:

- The Rustic or "Pirka": Made of carved rough stones that were placed without much care. The empty spaces were filled with small stones and a great amount of mud. This type was used for the construction of terraces, storages and houses for common people, etc.

- The Cell Type: It has an aspect similar to the structure of a honeycomb made of small polygonal limestone. We can find examples of this type in Qolqanpata, Chinchero, Tarawasi, etc.

- The Enchased Type: Made of igneous stones. The examples of this type are the Main Temple in Ollantaytambo, the Three-Window Temple in Machupicchu, Hatun Rumiyoq in Cusco, etc.

Historical Information Introduction

History of Cusco

Tahuantinsuyo
  - Incan Society
  - Background:
      * The Conquest
      * The Rebellion
        of Manco Inca
      * The XVIII
        Century

Incan Architecture
* Stone
* Adobe

Planification

Inca City Description

The Incan Center

- The Sedimentary or Imperial Inca: Basically, it consisted of mean stones of a regular height positioned in horizontal lines that appear to be rectangular. They make perfect and polished junctures "where it is impossible to slip a razor blade or even a sheet of paper". Except for a sheet of clay as thin as a sealant that apparently was put on a liquefied or liquid state so as to enable the transportation and manipulation of the stones.

- The Cyclopean Type: Also known as Megalithic, it is characterized by having enormous boulders that in some cases can reach 8.5 m. (28 feet) of height, as those that can be seen in Saqsaywaman, or those that coming out from the Main Temple in Ollantaytambo.

In many of the big stones that made up the Incan walls it is possible to see, almost always, 2 notches in the lowest part of their faces. In Saqsaywaman, these notches were used to facilitate the transportation, lifting and manipulation of stones during the construction process.

In exceptional cases, as in the Koricancha, the inner face of the wall is semi-circular, it is known as the "solar drum" and it displays a strange modeling that surrounds the trapezoidal niche. It is evident that the blocks were not used without reasons but they must have had certain religious duty or the ideographic meaning that are lost.

Usually, the Inca walls are supported and have a slight leaning. There is not a general rule or measure for that leaning and its main function was to investigate certain balance among the walls supporting them. Regularly, the stones of the base are bigger or have a larger volume than the superior ones. Besides, the base of the Incan walls is wider than the upper part. Moreover, the classic form of Incan architecture is the trapezoidal, which gives it stability and a sense of balance. We cannot deny that immortality was researched; how to make everlasting and indestructible seismic buildings in case of any natural catastrophe. Only men who were impressed by fanatic ideologies could have destroy them partially.

Their ceilings were constructed with highly qualified techniques. They were generally made of wood beams covered with straw or "ichu" (domestic wild grass). According to the roofing shape, the tile roofs can be classified in 4: one-slope roofs, two-slope roofs, four-sloop roof and cone-shaped roofs. Just imagine how amazing are the structures of some big buildings, such as the Wiraqocha Temple in Raqchi, which had a "Kallanka" with a structure of 92 x 25.25 m. (302 x 83 feet) covering an area of 2,323 m2 (25004 ft2).

Due to the materials used and the innumerable rains during the year, the tile roofs had a leaning that varied from 50� to 65�. The domestic wild grass "ichu" does not last forever, so the tile roofs had a frequent maintenance, renewing them every three or four years, as it happens today.