Ruinas Vilcashuamán and Baños Intihuatana - Ruin Ayacucho - Peru

A four-hour (110-kilometer) bus journey south of Ayacucho brings you to Vilcashuamán (meaning Sacred Falcon), the Incan provincial capital at the crossroads of their Cusco-Pacific and north-south highways. Notable ruins are a double-seated stone throne upon a five-tiered usnu (platform pyramid) and a Spanish church constructed atop the former Pyramid of the Sun. Walking an hour from these ruins, you arrive at Baños Intihuatana. Beside the lagoon here, a palace, tower, baths, altar and sun temple are among the Incan ruins awaiting your exploration. Be sure to keep an eye out for the 17-sided boulder in one of the structures.

Location:
Ayacucho, Peru

Ruin

Getting There
A tour with a travel agent will cost about $30. 

Travel Tips: Alternatively, you could catch a combi on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday from Avenida Castilla; however, you will need to stay overnight in Vischongo (45 minutes by car, two hours on foot from Vilcashuamán), as combis return to Ayacucho only every other day.

Relative price: Very cheap

Open Hours from:sunrise

Open Hours to:sunset

Travel Skills: beginner/easy.

About this Page

By Lorraine Caputo

Upon re-declaring her independence at age 29, Lorraine Caputo packed her trusty Rocinante (so her knapsack's called) and began...

Updated: 14 Aug 2007