Skip to content
es
T’aqrachullo archaeological complex in Suyckutambo, Espinar

T’aqrachullo — The María Fortaleza

The Inca citadel five times larger than Machu Picchu, recently opened to visitors and still free of crowds.

From $59 per person

Difficulty
Moderate
Max altitude
4100 m
Spots per date
15

On a cliff in Suyckutambo, with the Three Canyons below, lies a complex of 17.4 hectares and nearly 600 structures: temples, ceremonial plazas, dwellings and funerary chullpas.

Its name comes from Quechua: t’acra, bedrock, and chullo, frozen water, after the natural water deposits at the site. María Fortaleza is its official archaeological name.

Since 2019 Peru’s Ministry of Culture has restored more than three hundred structures. The density of construction led archaeologists to conclude this was no secondary settlement, but a first-order political, economic and religious centre of the Tahuantinsuyo.

It currently receives 80 to 120 visitors a day. You can still walk it unhurried.

Itinerary

  1. 07:00Pick-up at the Espinar Bus Terminal
  2. 08:15Arrival in Suyckutambo and short acclimatisation briefing
  3. 09:00Guided tour of T’aqrachullo begins
  4. 12:30Traditional lunch
  5. 14:00Viewpoint over the Three Canyons
  6. 15:30Return to Espinar
  7. 17:00Arrival at the terminal

Tour includes

  • Tourist transport throughout the trip
  • Professional bilingual guide (Spanish and English)
  • Entrance to the archaeological complex
  • Traditional local lunch
  • First aid kit and oxygen
  • On the 2-day option: accommodation in Espinar and breakfast

Not included

  • Transport to Espinar (except on the options departing from Cusco)
  • Dinners and drinks not specified
  • Tips
  • Personal expenses
  • Travel insurance

What to bring

  • ID card or passport
  • Warm and windproof clothing: temperatures drop sharply
  • Sunscreen and a hat: high-altitude sun is intense
  • Trekking shoes or footwear with good grip
  • Water and a snack
  • Camera