Llactapata

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Llactapata (also spelled Llaqtapata) is an ancient Incan village with a number of farming terraces. It is located on the Cusichaca river at roughly the entrance to the Vilcabamba jungle. The name of the town is Quechua for "town on hillside."<ref>Szostak. Llaqtapata and Runkuraqay. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.</ref>

Llactapata was burned by Manco Inca Yupanqui, who destroyed a number of settlements along the Inca trail during his retreat from Cusco in 1536 to discourage Spanish pursuit. In part due to these efforts, the Spanish never discovered the Inca trail or any of its settlements.<ref>Noland, David [2001-02-01]. Trekking. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-32072-3.</ref>

Hiram Bingham first discovered Llactapata during his excavation of Machu Picchu in 1912 and the described it as "the ruins of an Inca castle". He had little time to investigate the ruins thoroughly, however. They were not studied again for another 70 years.

One of the most comprehensive studies of the site was conduced by Thomson and Ziegler in mid-2003. The study concluded that Llactapata's location along the Inca trail suggests that it was an important rest stop and roadside shrine on the journey to the Machu Picchu. In fact, Llactapata may have been a member of the network of interrelated administrative and ceremonial sites which supported the regional centre at Machu Picchu. It probably played an important astronomical function during the solstices and equinoxes.<ref>Malville, J. McKim, Hugh Thomson, Gary Zeigler (2004). "Machu Picchu’s Observatory: the Re-Discovery of Llactapata and its Sun-Temple". Revista Andina. (expanded English version)</ref>

(Correction) The first two papragraphs above refers to the site of Patallacta located at Kilometer 88 at the tradional start of the "Inca Trail" trek to machu Picchu. Our study site, the archaeological complex of Llactapata is located some four kilometers west of Machu Picchu high on a ridge between the Aobamba and Santa Teresa drainages. A part of the site was discovered by Bingham in 1912 then lost and forgotten until our expeditions and subsequent investigations revealed am extensive complex or structures and features related to and connected with Machu Picchu by a continuation of the Inca Trail leading onward into the Vilcabmba. (See http://www.adventurespecialists.org/llacta.html).

Gary Ziegler October 2006