Ecuador

Ecuador
Today there are not many very well-preserved archaeological sites in Ecuador and Ingapirca remains the most intact Inca site in Ecuador. The reason for this is that after the execution of Atahualpa by Francisco Pizzaro, the Inca general Rumiñahui retreated to Ecuador where he defended the city of Quito from the Spanish for two years but eventually burned the city and most of the Inca's other Ecuadorian sites to keep them out of the hands of the Spanish. Ingapirca is located about 80 km north of Cuenca. Built by the Cañaris as an administrative and religious complex, it was later captured by the Inca and rebuilt.

Peru
Peru has a rich collection of archaeological sites that are all worth seeing. There are also many wonderful museums where many fine collections of artwork from the ancient peoples are kept. In Lima the National Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology shows treasures recovered from Peru´s ancient civilizations such as the Incas, Paracas, Nascas and many others. The Gold Museum in Monterrico is an underground museum with items which have been exhibited in the world’s leading museums. There are many more fine museums like the Larco Museum and the Amano Museum. The regional museum in Ica displays beautiful examples of textiles and pottery from the Nazca, Paracas, and Inca. And in Lambayeque there is the Bruning archaeological museum. 

Machu Picchu is a complete Inca fortress city, set on a saddle of a high mountain with terraced slopes falling away. Its altitude is at 2,350m above sea level and the position stunning. The Urubamba River can be seen down in the valley winding in hairpin bends below. 

Machu Picchu means “Old Peak”, and the higher Huayna Picchu ("Young Peak"), stands vigil over it. Machu Picchu´s remains are in a comparatively good state of preservation because the Spaniards never found it. It was buried in the jungle for centuries, until Hiram Bingham discovered it in 1911. Even after Bingham’s discovery, the city remained inaccessible until the 1940s, when an archaeological expedition working at the site discovered the Inca Trail cutting through the valley. See page Machu Picchu for more archaeological details.

Cuzco is seen as the archaeological capital of the Americas and is the oldest continuously inhabited city on the continent. UNESCO named it a Cultural Treasure of Humanity. Most of the city streets are lined with Inca-built stonewalls and the city is remarkable for its many colonial churches. The Inca stonework is serving now also as foundation for more modern buildings. The stonework is tapered upwards and every wall has a perfect line of inclination towards the centre. The individual stones are battered with each edge and corner rounded. See page Cuzco for more archaeological details.

The ruins above the town of Pisac are smaller than the ones in Sacsayhuamán, but the precision with which they are cut and fit is impressive. Ollantaytambo is the great fortress 72 km (45 miles) from Cuzco. 

Pachacamac lies about 20 miles south of Lima and once was one of the largest pre-Columbian cities on the Peruvian coast.  It once served as a ceremonial center for both the Incas and their predecessors.

Chan Chan is considered to be the largest adobe ruin in the world.  The city was once the capital of the Chimu Kingdom.  It extends over some 12 miles and is made up of 10 neighbourhoods.

The ancient Moche civilization made amazing examples of jewelry and pottery, considered by some to be the most beautiful pottery in the ancient world.  Sipan is home to what are considered the richest burial chambers in the Americas.  A major breakthrough in the understanding of the Moche, the tombs provide a wealth of insight into their culture as well as impressive jewelry and other ornaments.  The site is said to equal the find of the boy king Tutankamun.  Discovered by Dr Walter Alva after the authorities informed him of gold objects the huaqueros, tomb robbers, had taken from the site known as Huaca Rajada.  He immediately realized the importance of the objects and rushed out to find the site.  Only a few feet away from where the pillaging took place he found a royal tomb, the Lord of Sipan.   With an on-site museum, Sipan is not a place you want to miss.  Tucume is made up of pyramids, funeral mounds and a ceremonial center, all of which were explored under the direction of Norwegian explorer-archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl.  It is over 1,000 years old and was a huge city. 

For more information on Sipan and the Moche see explorer

The Nazca were the contemporaries of the Moche and are known for their colorful pottery and fine weaving.  The weaving is said to be closer and finer than the knit of modern parachutes. The Nazca geoglyphs are most easily appreciated from the air.  These figures etched into the Peruvian desert have caused some very contested debates in the field of archaeology.  Many theories have been put forward including some that go so far as to suggest that the desert was used as a UFO landing strip.  It is more likely that they were used for ceremonial pathways but so far no theory has been proved.  Still the geoglyphs, probably the largest bits of artwork ever, are one of the greatest testaments to the ingeniousness of the ancient people we know as the Nazca.

Chavin de Huantar is the namesake of the Chavin culture, an early period known for the greatest development of pottery, agriculture, weaving, and religion.  The people eventually vanished but their culture was the foundation of the great empires to come.  The site lies 25 miles from Huaraz.