Sacsayhuamán (/ˈsæksaɪˌwʌmən/ SACK-sy-wuh-mən; Spanish pronunciation: [saksajwaˈman]) or Saksaywaman (from Quechua Saksay waman pukara, pronounced [ˈsaksaj ˈwaman], lit.

'fortress of the royal falcon or hawk')[1][2][3] is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire.

In 1983, Cusco and Sacsayhuamán together were designated as sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, for international recognition and protection.

[6] Located on a steep hill that overlooks the city, the fortified complex has a wide view of the valley to the southeast.

Archeological studies of surface collections of pottery at Sacsayhuamán indicate that the earliest occupation of the hilltop dates to about 900 CE.

He said that the tail was where the two rivers unite which flow through it, that the body was the great square and the houses round it, and that the head was wanting.

Spanish Chronicler Pedro Cieza de León wrote in 1553: The Inca ordered that the provinces should provide 20,000 men and that the villages should send the necessary provisions.

And in these walls there were stones so large and mighty that it tired the judgment to conceive how they could have been conveyed and placed, and who could have had sufficient power to shape them, seeing that among these people there are so few tools.

As I walked about, observing what was to be seen, I beheld, near the fortress, a stone which measured 260 of my palmos in circuit, and so high that it looked as if it was in its original position.

They made two blocks of buildings, one larger than the other, wide and so well-built, that I know not how I can exaggerate the art with which the stones are laid and worked; and they say that the subterranean edifices are even better.

His son, Tupac Inca, as well as Huayna Ccapac and Huascar, worked much at it, and although it is still worthy of admiration, it was formerly without comparison grander.

It would be well to give orders for the preservation of what is left of this fortress, and of that of Huarcu,[210] as memorials of the grandeur of this people, and even for utility, as they could be made serviceable at so little cost.

[10]: 228–230  They found the Temple of the Sun "covered with plates of gold", which the Spanish supposedly ordered removed as payment for Atahualpa's ransom.

And in the lower part of this wall there were stones so large and thick that it seemed impossible that human hands could have set them in place...they were so close together, and so well fitted, that the point of a pin could not have been inserted in one of the joints.

The numerous rooms were "filled with arms, lances, arrows, darts, clubs, bucklers and large oblong shields...there were many morions...there were also...certain stretchers in which the Lords travelled, as in litters.

A similar relationship to that between Cuzco and Sacsayhuamán was replicated by the Inca in their distant colony where Santiago, Chile developed.

This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward, is thought to have helped the ruins survive devastating earthquakes in Cuzco.

[15][16] Following the siege of Cusco, the Spaniards began to use Sacsayhuamán as a source of stones for building Spanish Cuzco; within a few years, they had taken apart and demolished much of the complex.

This would have involved doing precise carving ahead of time to create the tight joints that are made to fit into prepared pockets existing in the wall.

In the event that they were unable to obtain the tight joints the first time the Incas would also have been able to lift the stones back up to correct their mistakes.

[21] Peruvians continue to celebrate Inti Raymi, the annual Inca festival of the winter solstice and new year.