George & Eve DeLange

We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for much of the information we obtained about the large Huari archaeological site, Near Cusco, Peru. Piquillacta, in Southern Quechua Piki Llaqta (City of fleas), is a large Huari archaeological site 20km east of Cusco in the province of Quispicanchi. The site is also known as Piki Llacta, Pikillacta or Piquillacta. The Peruvian site of Pikillacta is an enormous set of ruins belonging to the Wari empire. The site is located in the Lucre Basin of Peru at the east end of the valley of Cuzco, some thirty kilometers from the capital city of Cuzco. The word Pikillacta means "flea city" in Quechua; its original name is unknown. The site covers an area of nearly 2 square kilometers, including an enormous rectangular enclosure with hundreds of separate rooms, some small and plain, some large enclosures and compounds, some richly decorated. Some of the rooms contained human remains, and based on that, Pikillacta is thought to represent a ritual facility for the practice of ancestor worship. One of the most interesting aspects of Pikillacta (and there are numerous) is the hydraulic works that connect the water resources of the site to terraces and cultivable fields in the Lucre Basin, including canals, reservoirs, causeways, and aqueducts. This complex set of features allowed intensive agriculture of maize, potatoes and other crops. The purpose of Pikillacta was pretty clearly not residential--in fact, it appears to have been used only sporadically. Excavator Gordon McEwan believes the primary function of the site was administrative. Pikillacta, says McEwan, was a device used by the Wari Empire to control its subjects by controlling the location and context of the Wari religious ceremonies. We were at Pikillacta at about 11:30 AM on the morning of March 23, 2011. The photos on this page are arraqnged in the order as to which they were taken. There were no signs to identify what we were viewing, so we are unable to label the pictures, as to what they are of. Except, of course, Pikillacta Ruins.

The first choice of where to go in order to visit the Piquillacta Huari Archaeological Ruins, near Cusco, Peru is to fly in to Cusco, Peru. The Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (IATA: CUZ, ICAO: SPZO) is located in the city of Cusco, in southeastern Peru. Cusco is a principal tourist attraction in Latin America, and it receives various domestic flights as well as some international flights. There are several really nice hotels in Cusco. We found that when touring Peru, Magical Cusco Tours gave us the best service of all. They even arranged very personal tours based upon our ages and experience. They were there for us whenever we needed them. We have links to Magical Cusco Tours on our page so that they can arrange your tours of the town of Maras and the Salt Mines Of Maras, near Cusco, and the surrounding areas. Click on any of their links on our pages and they will give you a 4% discount for taking their package tours. Mention delange.org. Merchant Code Inka2010 for your discount! We suggest letting Ana Maria handle your tour. Note: The 4% discount applies to package tours only! Discount does not apply to hotel bookings, domestic or international tickets, meals or any other service booked as a single activity. Magical Cusco Tours also has a culinary tour that you may enjoy.Click Here For: Taste Of Peru.com their culinary tour page. We also have links to Priceline.Com on our pages, in case you may prefer to use their services.