{"id":2344,"date":"2025-04-08T22:47:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T22:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/?p=2344"},"modified":"2025-09-20T22:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T22:18:15","slug":"cusco-waqrapukara-fortress-of-the-horn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/en\/cusco-waqrapukara-fortress-of-the-horn\/","title":{"rendered":"Cusco: Waqrapukara, the fortress of the horn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0076.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0076.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0076-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0076-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early, very early, before dawn in <a href=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/es\/por-que-visitar-cusco\/\">Cusco<\/a>. That would be the first challenge. <strong>A challenge that began with yawns<\/strong> and stretches to shake off the sleep, determined not to step out like a sleepwalker or zombie onto the desolate streets of <strong>a city where I was a stranger<\/strong> \u2013 a city I would leave as a tourist but <strong>would return to as an explorer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That thought pushed me out of the room with high spirits and the conviction that I would overcome all the obstacles along the way; however, my enthusiasm crumbled when <strong>the cold wind &#8220;slapped&#8221;<\/strong> me for the first time. No, this was too much. <strong>Only a madman would leave the warmth of the bed<\/strong> to search for the stop where the minibuses would take him closer to his destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The worst part was that I was that madman \u2013 a madman who wouldn\u2019t change his plans of<strong> reaching Waqrapukara today, yes, today,<\/strong> \u201cthe fortress of the horn.\u201d &#8220;You can do it,&#8221; I cheered myself on as I continued down the hotel stairs. I did so with more doubts than certainties, given the hostile weather and the wedding being celebrated on the first floor. The guests <strong>were so cheerful that they surely would have wanted to toast with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0199.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0199.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0199-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0199-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Yes, I do,&#8221; I replied as if I were a groom at the altar&#8230; <strong>&#8220;but just one little drink,&#8221;<\/strong> I warned, knowing full well they\u2019d offer me more than one. The quirks of being a traveller. Things that happen in <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.www.gob.pe\/uploads\/document\/file\/1893016\/Informaci%C3%B3n%20general.pdf.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Peru<\/a>, <strong>a country with open doors<\/strong>, where you&#8217;re invited,<strong> shared with, and welcomed as if you were family<\/strong> \u2013 especially on festive days, when everyone is welcome. <strong>Everyone has to be happy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I stuck to my warning. I said my goodbyes.<strong> &#8220;See you at the divorce,<\/strong> my waykis (friends),&#8221; I dared to joke, inspired by <strong>that little drink that took away my sleep and laziness.<\/strong> It also chased away the cold. I stepped outside. I walked through the San Blas neighbourhood, the <a href=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/es\/cusco-plaza-de-armas-centro-historico\/\">Plaza de Armas<\/a>, and several streets with names in both Quechua and Spanish. There was no turning back now. <strong>My journey to Waqrapukara had begun.<\/strong> Come with me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dawn on the road<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0410.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0410.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0410-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0410-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once again in Cusco, but not to visit the marvelous <a href=\"https:\/\/viajes.nationalgeographic.com.es\/z\/machu-picchu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Machu Picchu<\/a> or <strong>the challenging Choquequirao<\/strong> with its four-day <em>trek<\/em>. Not even the string of towns and archaeological sites that beautify the Sacred Valley of the Incas, or the winding roads <strong>that approach and surround the snow-capped peaks of<\/strong> Ausangate and <a href=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/es\/que-hacer-en-cusco\/caminata-laguna-humantay\/\">Salkantay<\/a>, the mountains that watch over and protect the \u201cHistoric Capital of Peru.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s time to change things up, to explore,<strong> to discover new destinations.<\/strong> The search for alternative attractions enriches your itinerary and <strong>fuels your adventurous spirit. It\u2019s always good to \u201cescape\u201d<\/strong> for a day or two from the most popular circuits and head toward that barely explored place recommended by a taxi driver, the receptionist at your hotel, or<strong> the globetrotter you met at a bar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This quest would lead me to the 4,100 meters above sea level of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andaresmagazine.com\/articulos-y-entrevistas\/waqrapukara%3A-descubrimientos-arqueoastron%C3%B3micos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Waqrapukara<\/a>, at a time when almost <strong>no one \u2014 or very few \u2014 were exploring this archaeological complex<\/strong> in the district of Acos, province of Acomayo. Located at the top of a mountain that resembles a horn, the area has yielded <strong>evidence of several pre-Hispanic cultures<\/strong>, including the Incas, the \u201cChildren of the Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0022.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0022.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0022-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0022-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I didn\u2019t know that when I left the hotel. At that moment of yawns and stretches, <strong>my first goal was to board the minibuses to Sicuani<\/strong> (they depart from Wanchaq, near the closed coliseum) and get off at the <strong>Chuquicahuana bridge<\/strong> (about <strong>2 hours<\/strong>, ticket cost: <strong>15 soles, reference price<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At that point, I would meet Godofredo, a companion from many trips to little-known places around Cusco. And there I was,<strong> waiting for his arrival in the middle of the road.<\/strong> Had he gotten discouraged? I wondered, while glancing up at the sky,<strong> hoping that Tayta Inti (Father Sun) would finally wake up<\/strong> and warm the Andean dawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Waqrapukara: a cultural melting pot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0225.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0225.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0225-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0225-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All I had to do now was wait and <strong>complain about getting myself into these kinds of adventures.<\/strong> I could have been having a great time at the wedding or on one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/es\/que-hacer-en-cusco\/caminata-laguna-humantay\/\">countless excursions<\/a> that Cusco tour operators offer to tourists <strong>wandering the streets of the &#8220;navel of the world.&#8221;<\/strong> This is what the capital of <a href=\"https:\/\/americanindian.si.edu\/inkaroad\/engineering\/es\/activity\/los-cuatro-suyus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Tawantinsuyu<\/a>, the vast Inca Empire, has been called since pre-Hispanic times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The options are varied and now include <strong>day trips to Waqrapukara. <\/strong>That\u2019s the case now, <strong>but it wasn\u2019t always so<\/strong>. Back then, you had to go on your own, always on your own, all the way to the Chuquicahuana bridge and from there, take a shared taxi (<strong>10 soles<\/strong>, travel time: <strong>less than an hour<\/strong>) to<a href=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/es\/cusco-el-circuito-de-las-cuatro-lagunas\/\"> Pomacanchi Lake and the village<\/a>. But the journey didn\u2019t end in the <strong>\u201cpuma\u2019s corral\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 that\u2019s what its name means in Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;In Pomacanchi \u2014 3693 meters above sea level \u2014 <strong>we\u2019ll look for a ride to Santa Luc\u00eda.<\/strong> Hopefully, we find one quickly. Sometimes there isn\u2019t one. If we\u2019re lucky, we\u2019ll get there in an hour. Then we\u2019ll start walking to the fortress.<strong> It\u2019ll be five kilometers there and five back<\/strong>, Godofredo told me as soon as he appeared to avoid my complaints about his tardiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0037.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0037.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0037-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0037-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He succeeded. His information extinguished my fury.<strong> I just wanted to be in the village<\/strong>, to find a truck, minibus, or old taxi that would drop us off in Santa Luc\u00eda, to take that first step toward an archaeological complex that &#8220;some experts believe<strong> was originally a work of the Canchis<\/strong>, a warrior people who thrived before the Incas, who eventually took control of the area.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/mundo\/articles\/clw8wz8wpw0o\">article published by BBC News Mundo<\/a>, \u00d3scar Mont\u00fafar from the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco points out that <strong>\u201cthere are indications that its origins may be even older.\u201d<\/strong> In his opinion, Waqrapukara <strong>could have been a cultural<\/strong> melting pot because \u201cthere is archaeological evidence of the Pukar\u00e1 cultures, the oldest, followed by Tiawanaku, Wari, <a href=\"https:\/\/sicuaninoticias.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/03\/la-cultura-qanchi-segun-historiadores-reconocidos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Canchis<\/a>, and then the Incas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A sacred fortress<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0215.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0215.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0215-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0215-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calm down, don\u2019t rush. Measure your steps. The journey has just begun. <strong>Don\u2019t push yourself too hard.<\/strong> Don\u2019t speed up, don\u2019t run, don\u2019t chase anyone. Enjoy it. Find your own rhythm. <strong>Stop to take several photos<\/strong>, to breathe deeply, to observe the rocky mountains, the cultivated fields, the herds of alpacas, llamas, and sheep, and also the depth of the <a href=\"https:\/\/consultasenlinea.mincetur.gob.pe\/fichaInventario\/index.aspx?cod_Ficha=602\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Apur\u00edmac River canyon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t be scared if you\u2019re short of breath or if your heart pounds like the drum of a marching band. <strong>Walking in the Andes isn\u2019t easy<\/strong>. The altitude and the slopes challenge you with every step\u2026<strong> those steps that lead me to Waqrapukara<\/strong>. Yes, I can already see it, it\u2019s emerging on the horizon.<strong> It\u2019s thrilling to see its \u201chorns\u201d <\/strong>and feel that I\u2019m close, very close to its terraces, its stone walls, and its temples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen the Incas arrived, they designated it as a sacred site,<strong> but it was also used for rites and pilgrimages<\/strong> by pre-Inca cultures,\u201d explains the previously cited article. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of <strong>doors with triple jambs<\/strong>, because &#8220;only spaces with a religious dimension have these <strong>three frames embedded within other frames.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0070-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0070-1.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0070-1-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0070-1-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A sacred place with <strong>an breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape.<\/strong> I feel privileged to be here, photographing walls of fine Inca architecture, entering several stone chambers, <strong>observing the terraces<\/strong> that, besides ensuring food supplies, also served to prevent landslides. I\u2019d love to stay, but <strong>\u201cwe need to head back now,\u201d<\/strong> Godofredo convinces me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The afternoon falls. We speed up. <strong>We don\u2019t want the night to catch up with us. <\/strong>We don\u2019t want to arrive in Santa Luc\u00eda when it\u2019s impossible to find a ride to Pomacanchi. Once again, I glance up at Tayta Inti, hoping he\u2019ll keep lighting our way. He hears me and blesses us, <strong>for we barely catch a truck<\/strong>. On the way back, I think about everything I would have missed<strong> if I had chosen to stay at the wedding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0085.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0085.webp 1024w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0085-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/freewalkingtourcusco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC0085-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Early, very early, before dawn in Cusco. That would be the first challenge. A challenge that began with yawns and stretches to shake off the sleep, determined not to step out like a sleepwalker or zombie onto the desolate streets of a city where I was a stranger \u2013 a city I would leave as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tourism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cusco: Waqrapukara, the Horn Fortress - Full-Day Hike<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cusco: Waqrapukara, the Horn Fortress. 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