July 20, 2008

 
   

A half kilometer away from the paved road is the small village of Tipón where an extraordinary colonial abode stands out. It is without any doubt, the most important countryside monument inherited from colonial times but nowadays is completely abandoned. The original Quechua name of the whole Park is lost, and today it has diverse groups, standing out the sector where some Inkan "royal inclosures" are found. That group is found in a slight and warm ravine at an altitude of 3500 mts. (11480 Ft.). Besides, the terracing found over here is very impressive, it contains 12 very fertile terraces that are still cultivated, and their retaining walls were built with well carved stones. Even more impressive is the irrigation system that is still serving agriculture and was made taking advantage of the water spring existing in the spot. It has carved stone channels, precisely calculated and sometimes with almost vertical falls that all together constitute a hydraulic engineering master work. Likewise, there are some fountains that must had ceremonial duties.

Because of its location and the presence of a surrounding wall Tipón must have been a very exclusive site, interdependent with some other sectors that today have divers names, among which are "Intiwatana" toward the West, "Pukutuyoq", "Pukara", "Hatun Wayk'o", etc. Towards the group's southwest, in the almost vertical mountain surface is the cemetery named "Pitopuqyo" that today has rows of looted tombs. It is worth mentioning that all over the park there is a huge amount of different cultural vestiges, including thousands of surface broken ceramic pieces.