Tambomachay

Tambomachay is 8 kilometers from the city of Cusco, one kilometer
from Pukapukara, at 3,700 m.s.m.m. Tambo corresponds to collective
accommodation with everything necessary to house many people who will
stay for a short time. Machay means resting place more or less. The name
comes from the incanato.
This place is popularly called the "Baños
del Inca". It is a fairly well-preserved example of a ritual bathing
site and perhaps a cult of water. We know that the Incas venerated water
as one of the main elements of life and practiced devotional ablutions
frequently. Here, where a spring emerges from the hillside, the Incas
built a series of three waterfalls, carefully channeling them through
fine stone courses. No doubt the site was less bare and desolate in
times past than it is today. It was probably surrounded by trees,
shrubs, and ornamental gardens.
Note an element of mystery in the
location of the spring itself. The slope behind it is simply not high or
big enough to provide that much water, it is supposed to enter
underground from the opposite mountain, through a natural U-shaped
conduit.
As its name indicates, this place was a rest area for the
Inca. There, he would go hunting for pleasure, as deer were common in
the surrounding areas. The Inca asked them to bring water from this
spring to the city, to drink it for its healing qualities and because it
was said to be a fountain of youth as well.
The set is preceded by a
solid wall made of large well-fitted stones with a somewhat rough
surface. In front of the main building, on the eastern side of the
complex, stands a tower with a circular floor plan, unfortunately it is
incomplete in its upper portion, due to its location, whoever sees it
categorically believes that it had defense and communication purposes.