Q'enko (Q'enqo/Kenko)

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Q'enko, an ancient religious site of the Incas

The ruins of Q'enko or Q'enqo are close to Cuzco, but a little bit further than Sacsayhuamán. It is northeast of the city, not very often visited by tourists.

These ruins are rather interesting then beautiful. Broken stones, caves and the remains of brutalized buildings are just about all you can see.

Q'enko is on top of the Socorro Hill and was used by the Incas as a religious spot.

Q'enko is part of the Sacsayhuamán Archaeological Park.

The material used at the construction of these buildings and stone objects was limestone.

An interesting place in Q'enko is the so-called "Big Rock" or "Great Rock", 100 m long. This huge stone was carved by Incas, on its back there are stairs, on which tourists are allowed to walk.

The Incas have also carved animal shapes into this rock: felines, reptiles are recognizable.

Below the "Great Carved Rock" there is an underground gallery.

Another part of this site is that of the semicircular plaza. You will see perfectly carved stone bricks put together all around. The formation resembles and amphitheatre.

The wall around is an elliptical one with 19 niches that were presumably used as seats. A monolith of about 4 m is also found here, on the eastern side (seen on the image below on the right).

It is believed that it was the emperor Huayná Cápac Inca who ordered the construction of Q'enko. Specialists say it was dedicated to death, funerals in particular.

Others believe that Q'enko also has an astronomical function. The Incas could have used it as an observatory, calendar, who knows?

A similar site, about half a kilometer away is the so-called "Little Q'enko", which is somewhat similar. That site has a rectangular wall built around it.

This Inca site is not among the predefined ones of tourists, but that doesn't mean it is less important. Here you can see huge single blocks of stone, interesting layouts of dwellings, which you won't see elsewhere.

The cave-like parts are particularly interesting, mysterious.

Q'enko was not a city, but a religious complex.

All you can see today was under the ground until it was unearthed in 1934.

Visiting this place from Cuzco will take you little time, if you like Incan architecture, then you will certainly admire this place's magical atmosphere!