The Raqchi Archeological Site

James Bustamante( Travel Writer )

James Bustamante is Native to New York but born to Peruvian parents. He has been traveling throughout Latin America since early 2003 and finally made his home in Peru. James has made his way by eating and traveling through almost every country in Central and South America.

www.journeymachupicchu.com

Last Updated on February 9, 2021 by James Bustamante

Today, let’s go visit Raqchi, the Archeological site. There are many lesser-known towns, villages, and archeological sites near Cusco that have an interesting history.

Since there are other better-known destinations to see, most travelers will gravitate towards them, such as the Machu Picchu hike or a tour of the Sacred Valley.

In this short post we will spotlight Raqchi, the archeological site that predates the Inca empire and has been garnering more interest lately.

What is Raqchi?

Raqchi is a very old archaeological site located a couple of hours from the city of Cusco. The ruins of Raqchi are quite special, they date back to the Wiracocha period.

This means archaeologists date the construction of this ancient site to around  200 B.D, which would make Raqchi around 2000 years old.  

Within the archaeological site of Raqchi, we can find a temple dedicated to the Inca god  “Wiracocha”, also known as the creator god. C

onstruction began in 1431 and took place during the reign of the Inca Huiracocha, Pachacútec y Túpac Yupanqui.

Building this temple took some time, it was not finished until around 1493. The site also includes houses within the settlement, this means that the people that made the ruins also lived nearby according to researchers. 

According to researchers, excavations at the site determined that the ceramic remains found were o pre- Inca cultures. This would place Raqchi as a location where the people predate the Inca empire.

So, Where is Raqchi?

Before we can visit Raqchi, let’s go over where the exact location of this Andean site actually is. 

We can find the town of Raqchi in the San Pedro de Cancha district, in Cusco at an elevation of around 3,460 meters or 11,000 feet above sea level.  If we go on tour from the city of Cusco the total time to reach this town would be 2 hours and 20 minutes.

What Can We Find in Raqchi?

We can find several temples and ancient constructions in Raqchi. These include The temple of Wiracocha, The colcas or storehouses, The water fountains, The houses, and The Qhapac Ñan, The Statue, The Major Inca Temple.

The Temple of Wiracocha

The Wiracocha temple was dedicated to the creator god Incas and is one of the biggest constructions in the area.

All the remains of this temple are the giant walls that characterize it.

They were constructed out of stone and adobe. The walls are around 20 meters high and within them, you can see windows, columns, and doors. 

This Inca building was designed so that in a way so that anyone entering it would have their path blocked by tall pillars.

This would have forced anyone entering the temple of Wiracocha to go ahead through another path that took them on a zig-zag motion.

It is believed that the design was deliberately made in order to express aspects of cosmology which the Inca were quite fond of. 

After the zig-zag path devotees would find themselves walking towards the statue of Wiracocha. 

The Colcas 

Colcas are what the Inca called warehouses. These enclosures in Raqchi were used to store food or the Incas.

Researchers found 156 of These circular colcas throughout the area. These colcas were most likely used to feed the locals as well as the “Chaskis” or Inca messengers. 

These houses were where the inhabitants would live and sleep. Archaeologists counted a total of 22 areas where houses were built, all parallel to each other.

The Inca seemed to really like having symmetry in their constructions as well as how people were placed around the site.

The Raqchi Water Fountains

The Inca needed a steady water supply for Raqchi, the solution was to build very finely made water fountains for the site. There is a famous fountain called the “Baños del Inca” or the Inca’s bathhouse.

The Qhapac Ñan

The Inca had a network of trails they built in order to connect the entire Inca empire. Raqchi was a very important part of this network of trails.

This site was apparently called a “Chaskiwasi” which is Quechua (The Language of the Inca) for “house of the messengers.

This was of much importance during the Inca empire since they needed someone to travel long distances through the highlands to deliver important messages.

The Inca Statue

During excavations in Raqchi and Cusco, there was a curious find by researchers. A stone head had been unearthed at a Cusco site,  close to it were remains of what seemed to be the body the head was attached to.

The researcher and specialist Manuel Ballesteros believed it was the remains of the statue of Wiracocha.

Manuel as well as other researchers are sure that these stone remains were at one point taken from Raqchi and brought to Cusco to be destroyed and buried.

This was a common practice during the Spanish conquest of the region. Currently, the head of the statue is displayed at the American Museum in Madrid Spain and the body can be seen at the Inca Museum in Cusco.

The Major Inca Temple

This temple is considered to be quite unique when it comes to Inca architecture. The structure has a base that is 92 meters (300 feet)  long and 25 meters (82 feet) wide, there is also a center wall that measures at least 12 meters (40 feet) in height.

The base of this wall is made of stone, then at about 3 meters, (10 feet) the stone stops and the rest is made from Adobe. This temple was held up by several cylindrically shaped columns of which only 22 remain.

Is There A Tour to Raqchi?

Yes, there are tours to Raqchi. As mentioned Raqchi is not a mainstream tourist destination yet so tour schedules to this archaeological site are limited.

Almost all tours that we operate which include Raqchi also include the South Valley of Cusco. So basically you will also get to visit other destinations.

When there are at least 6 people in a group we can program a 1 full-day tour to Raqchi. Included would be transportation, lunch, tour guide, and entry to Raqchi as well as Piquillacta and Andahuaylillas. 

The cost for the 1-day Raqchi archeological tour is $80 / person. This also includes visits to other destinations.

Conclusion

Raqchi seems to have been a place of worship as well as a type of fort the Inca used. The temples and other constructions were of Inca origin but the history of this location pre dates them.

In order to visit this ancient site make sure you have at least at least a full day to properly take the tour.

Frequently Asked Questions About Raqchi