QENQO

On 3580 m.a.s.l., and 6 kms. (5 min. at the northeast of Cusco City) by car on asphalted road you will find the archaeological site of Q’enqo. It has two parts: the Big One is next to the road that takes you from Sacsayhuamán to Písac; and the Small One is 350 meters west of the previous one, on the hillside. This Inca Temple is located on what today is known as Socorro Hill and it has an area that surpasses 3,500 square meters. Although the original name of this Inca Temple is not known, the Spanish conquerors decided to name it after the Quechua word Q`enqo that means "labyrinth", maybe for the labyrinthine underground galleries or for the small channels worked in the rocks in zigzag form. The Spaniards classified this monument like an amphitheater, surely because it shows a semicircular construction at its front.