Inca ruins of the city of Choquequirao, sitting in the cloud forest of Salkantay Mountains at an elevation of 3050m. The ruins are composed by several administrative and religious buildings and terraces on the mountain slopes. Built in the XV century, probably by the Inca Huayna Capac, Choquequirao served as an administrative and religious center. Following the fall of Cuzco, this place is credited as one of the last refuges of the Inca rulers. Though partially excavated, it is believed to be greater than Machu Picchu.

Choquequirao: Incan terraces in the cloud forest above the Apurimac river

Lama represented with white stones on the terraces of Choquequirao, Peru

Ruins from the Incan city of Choquequirao

Inca architecture from the ruins of the cerimonial site of Choquequirao, Peru

Ruins of buildings and terraces from Choquequirao

Ruins of the main residential building in Choquequirao

Inca gate from the main residential area in Choquequirao

Choquequirao: staircase leading to the farming terraces built on the steep slopes above the river Apurimac

Twelve angled stone from the former palace of the Inca Roca, now the Archbishop’s palace, in Cuzco, Peru

Details of Inca masonry in Cusco, Peru

Detail of the ashlar masonry used in Tiwanaku

Detail of the outer wall of the platform mound Kalasasaya in Tiwanaku

The sculptured heads are believed to represent the deities of the Wari pantheon or a representation of the different populations of the Empire

Human heads sculptured in the sunken courtyard, in Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Sculptured head from the sunken courtyard, or Templo Semisubterraneo, in Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Terraces forming the Kalasasaya templar complex in Tiwanaku

The Ponce Monolith from the Kalasasaya templar complex, Tiwanaku