Facts about Markawasi
The Markawasi Plateau
Markawasi or Marcahuasi is a plateau located in the Central Andes (Province of Huarochiri), 60 miles (84 Km) east of Lima, on the mountain range that rises to the right bank of the Santa Eulalia River, at approximately 3,890-4,000 meters. (11,700-12,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau’s landscape is filled with awesome rock formations with likeness to animals, people and religious symbols and because of its alleged mystical energy, it is considered one of Earth’s most important magnetic sites with no less than 22 energy vortexes.
Although most scientists believe that time and predominant weather conditions were responsible for the enigmatically shaped giant granite blocks, there are some that think these were sculpted by the hands of men that inhabited the plateau thousands of years ago. Also at the site are ruins of ancient settlements or outposts from the Yunga and Huanca civilizations that flourished in Central Peru between 800 and 1478 A.D.(finally submitting to Inca Pachacutec). Renown Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello explored the plateau in 1923 and determined that the place known as “The Fortress”, a complex made of giant boulders one upon the other was a sacred shrine were the Yunga performed ceremonies and worshiped Wallallo, their deity, God of lightning and rain. Tello gave little importance to the archaeological findings and even less to the “stone forest”. About twenty years after Tello’s exploration, Daniel Ruzo, a Peruvian esoteric investigator, disciple of Pedro Astete, visited Markawasi and declared that the plateau was the stone temple of a great civilization, the “Masma”, picked up from Astete’s dream of astonishingly developed protohistorical American culture that lived in the plateau 10,000 years ago.
The name Markawasi (Marcahuasi) is composed of two Quechua words, marca which means the land belonging to a community, and huasi which means town, so the name Marcahausi refers to the land for the town or entire community, although Daniel Ruzo states that it means “two-storied house,” referring to the stone buildings found on the plateau (which Ruzo, in spite of other archaeological investigators conclusions, regards as Inca military garrisons).
MAXIMUM ALTITUDE: 3980 m.a.s.l. (13058 ft.)
RAINY SEASON: OCTOBER-MARCH TEMPERATURE: MIN 9ºC (48ºF) MAX 34ºC (93ºF)
DRY SEASON: APRIL-SEPTEMBER TEMPERATURE: MIN -4ºC (25ºF) MAX 28ºC (82ºF)
DISTANCE FROM SAN PEDRO TO MARKAWASI PLATEAU (TRAIL): 6-7 Km (3.8 - 4,2 Mi.)
TRAIL HIKING DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MODERATE-HIGH (ALTERNATIVE: HORSEBACK RIDE)
Daniel Ruzo
San Pedro de Casta
San Pedro de Casta, a small Andean village at 3200 meters (9600 feet) above sea level and no more tan 1300 inhabitants, is the gateway to Markawasi for most of its visitors. Before the arrival of the Conquistadors in 1534, the village was a small indigenous settlement named Orcohuasi (the house on the mountain in Quechua) subdued to the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyo). The Spaniards renamed it San Pedro de Casta in 1571 and gathered within its boundaries the populations of other 3 neighbor villages because the viceroyalty needed slaves to work in the silver and gold mines of the Central Andes. After Peru gained its independence in 1821, San Pedro de Casta has remained as a peaceful farming community. Many houses made of adobe, rock and wood still resemble the rustic Colonnial Andean homes of 2 or 3 centuries ago just as most of the narrow cobblestone streets. Perhaps the highlight of this typical architecture is the old church with its inclined tower.
There are also several new buildings nowadays in San Pedro de Casta, including the City Hall, the school, a Library, the Tourist Office (where admissions to the plateau must be paid), a hotel, several restaurants and stores, even a museum where mummies and artifacts found on the archaeological sites on the plateau are exhibited.
