Usnu, Ayacucho

The Usnu (Ushnu) at Vilcashuaman is a truncated Inca ceremonial pyramid of five stacked platforms, reaching about eight meters in height, built with finely worked stone. Ordered by Inca Pachacutec after defeating the Chancas around 1438, its summit holds a large double-carved stone throne once covered in gold leaf, from which the Inca presided over state ceremonies. Vilcashuaman was considered the geographic center of the Inca Empire where the road between Cusco and the Pacific coast crossed the main Andean highway.