Vilcashuamán and Intihuatana

Vilcashuamán and Intihuatana Review

Four long hours south of Ayacucho on winding, unpaved roads is the former Inca provincial capital of Vilcashuamán, set where the north-south Inca highway crossed the east-west trade road from Cusco to the Pacific. You can still see the Templo del Sol y la Luna and a five-tiered platform, known as the Ushno, crowned by an Inca throne and surrounded by stepped fields once farmed by Inca. An hour's walk from Vilcashuamán (or a half-hour's walk south past the main road from Ayacucho) is Intihuatana, where Inca ruins include a palace and tower beside a lagoon. Former Inca baths, a sun temple, and a sacrificial altar are also on the grounds. Check out the unusual 13-angled boulder, one of the odd building rocks that are an Inca hallmark. Ayacucho travel agencies can organize tours of both sites (S/80), or you can catch a bus or colectivo for S/15. Ask around to confirm where these public transport options are leaving from, as pickup points change frequently.