Quispiguanca

Quispiguanca was a royal estate of the Inca emperor Huayna Capac (c. 1464–1525 CE) [1]. The ruins of the estate are located in the northern part of the present-day town of Urubamba, Peru at an elevation of 2,910 metres [1]. The estate of Huayna Capac extended for 15 kilometres up and down the Sacred Valley [1]. The archaeological remains consist of a terrace, a well—preserved wall, gatehouses on the east side of the site, and several structures in poor condition in the northern third of the site [1]. Most of the construction is of fitted stonework, although some adobe and plaster were also used [1]. The original palace compound was rectangular and measured within its walls 189 metres north-south and 125 metres east-west [1]. The northernmost part of the compound consists of agricultural terraces and the stone foundation of a great hall, measuring 14 metres by 44 metres [1]. The Spanish conquistador of the Inca Empire, Francisco Pizarro, appropriated the estate of Huayna Capac as his encomienda in the 1530s [1].