Waqrapukara

Waqrapukara is an Inca site built between two horns of rock on the rim of the Apurímac canyon, about four hours south of Cusco in Acomayo province. The name is Quechua for "horn fortress", and you will also see it written Waqra Pukara, Huaqrapukara or Waqrapucara. It stands at about 4,300 metres, has no entrance fee, and on many days ours is the only group there. This page has our tour to it, and our guides to the site and the hike.

The tour. The Waqrapukara tour from Cusco collects you at 4:00 in the morning and stops for a buffet breakfast at Cusipata in the Vilcanota valley. Then it climbs west past the lake at Pomacanchi and through Santa Lucía to the trailhead at about 4,200 metres. The walk to the site takes about an hour and a half each way, on a clear path. Trekking poles are provided and the guide carries oxygen. Lunch is outdoors at Santa Lucía, and you are back in Cusco between six and seven in the evening. Groups of up to nine. 33 dollars, breakfast and lunch included.

What you see. Two towers of natural rock rise from the summit, and between and below them are terraces, walls and trapezoidal niches of fine Inca stonework fitted to the rock. The Canchis people built the first, circular structures, and the Inca took the site later. Despite the name, the quality of the masonry and the single path in suggest a sanctuary rather than a fortress. Our guide to the fortress that may never have been one goes into the history.

How hard it is. The path is steady rather than steep; what makes it hard is the altitude. Cusco is at 3,400 metres and the site at 4,300, so give yourself two days in Cusco first. Waqrapukara is lower than Rainbow Mountain or Pallay Punchu, which makes it a good choice if the altitude has bothered you before. Read how hard is the Waqrapukara hike? and the nine things we tell every traveller before you go.

Waqrapukara or the busier day trips? Choose Waqrapukara for Inca stonework without a queue, or if you have seen Machu Picchu and want somewhere almost nobody goes. Choose Rainbow Mountain or Humantay Lake for the famous views. Waqrapukara is a long day: about nine hours in the vehicle and three on foot. Our guide to day trips from Cusco that are not Machu Picchu compares the options.

When to go. May to September is dry and clear. From December to March the path turns slick, cloud can sit on the horns for hours, and storms cross the open ground quickly. Dress in layers: the canyon rim is windy and the sun is strong at this height.

Is there an entrance fee for Waqrapukara? Not at present. There is no gate, booth or ticket. That may change as more people visit.

How far is Waqrapukara from Cusco? About four to four and a half hours each way by road, south through the Vilcanota valley and then west into Acomayo province.

Is Waqrapukara worth it? Yes, if you want fine Inca stonework with no crowds and don't mind a 15-hour day for one site. If you only have a day or two in Cusco, spend them on the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu first.

For more day trips from the city, see our Cusco tours.