The site is located on the left bank of the Vilcanota River, within the limits of the Machu Picchu National Archaeological Park. It is connected to the Machu Picchu llaqta by the Inca trail that crosses the site of Wiñaywayna and, more likely, with another path that runs along the valley floor. In the central part of Chachabamba there is a carved granite rock and several architectural structures around it. The rock, most likely, could have had the status of the so-called "huaca", which means "object of worship." The “huaca” is clearly oriented towards Salcantay, one of the most important sacred Inca mountains (called “Apu” – The Lord). The presence of 14 "baths" (ritual baths) supplied with water by a complicated system of canals is a very interesting feature of this complex. Research at the site includes excavations in cooperation with the Park Directorate, three-dimensional documentation using scanning, photogrammetry and LiDAR, and laboratory studies focused on C14 analysis.
Project Director: mgr. Dominika Sieczkowska
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POLAND
University of Warsaw
Center for Andean Studies
PERU
Center for Andean Studies
of the University of Warsaw in Cusco