history
13th June. Perched high in the hills, Ingapirca is Ecuador’s most significant set of pre-Columbian ruin. A quiet yet powerful testament to two cultures layered on one site. Originally built by the Cañari people, who worshipped the moon and lived here long before (500 years) the Incas arrived. The site was later adapted and expanded by the Incas during their Northern push into Ecuador in the late 1400s. Rather than destroy what was already here, the Incas merged their sun-worshipping culture with the Cañari’s, creating a hybrid temple complex unlike anything else in the region. The elliptical Temple of the Sun, built with massive stone blocks perfectly fitted together without mortar, still stands as a feat of Inca engineering. Wandering the grounds today, among crumbling walls, ritual baths, and agricultural terraces, it’s easy to imagine the echoes of two ancient civilizations that once shared this highland stronghold.
After the fall of the Inca Empire in the 1530s, the Ingapirca site entered a long and quiet chapter of slow decline. The Spanish, focused on converting and controlling Indigenous populations, had little interest in preserving Inca or Cañari structures. Many of Ingapirca’s finely carved stones were taken and reused in colonial buildings in nearby towns like Cañar and Tambo. Over the centuries, local farmers also quarried the site for stone or allowed livestock to graze among the ruins.
These past couple of days, it feels like Google has been sending us on a wild goose chase—guiding us down small-town backroads, often unpaved, in an effort to reach some pretty out-of-the-way places. Ingapirca is definitely off the beaten path, so getting here felt like a bit of a mission. We were able to park overnight in the main carpark at no charge, though it wasn’t exactly a quiet stay. Dirt bikes ripped up and down the nearby streets well past midnight and kicked off again at 5am. People here seem to wake early and stay up late!
The gates to the ruins opened at 9:30am, and as usual, we were the first ones in. We had a private tour in English and learned all about the site’s fascinating history. Across the road, there’s a small museum housing a collection of artifacts, including beautifully preserved textiles.
Next stop is Cuenca, and the home town of Paul & Pam…