Cojitambo is an

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

and pre-Inca archaeological ruin, a popular

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

site, and a small village west of Azogues, capital of

Canar Cañar may refer to: * Cañar Province, Ecuador * Cáñar Cáñar is a small village in the Alpujarras comarca of the province of Granada in Spain. It is located a few kilometres north of the road from Órgiva to Pampaneira and the high Alpuj ...

province of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. The name is said by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism to derive from the

Quechua language Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common anc ...

''curi tambo'', or ''Inn of Gold'' (although no gold has been found at the site).

Location and description

The Cojitambo archaeological site is at an elevation of meters above sea level. Azogues is northeast. The straight-line distance northeast from the city of Cuenca is . Cojitambostageliketerras

The sheer eastern face of Cojitambo rock rises from the outskirts of the village of Cojitambo. The cliffs run for about in a north-south direction. The dome-shaped rock is Ecuador's most popular site for rock climbing with more than 100 routes identified. The climbing routes are rated from easy to 5.14 (very difficult). The Cojitambo archaeological sits on a small flattened area on top of the cliffs. The terrain is less steep in the north and west and a road leads to the summit and ruins.

Background

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that the site of Cojitambo was occupied from 500 BCE onward. It was probably both a military and religious site of the

Cañari The Cañari (in Kichwa: Kañari) are an indigenous ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the territory of the modern provinces of Azuay and Cañar in Ecuador. They are descended from the independent pre-Columbian tribal confederation of the s ...

people long before the arrival of the Incas. The Incas began their conquest of Ecuador under the emperor

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ( qu, Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1418–1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire ( qu, Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca si ...

(ruled c. 1438–1471) about 1450. Prior to the Inca invasion the Cañari probably consisted of a number of related, but politically independent, chiefdoms. They united to resist the Incas, but succumbed about 1460 after a vigorous struggle. Cojitambo was built in part to suppress the Cañari and to further the conquest of peoples further north. After their conquest the Incas instituted a major building program to integrate the Cañari into their empire. This included construction of the Inca royal road which stretched the length of the Inca Empire and passed through Cojitambo. Cojitambo served religious and ceremonial purposes. The Incas also quarried building stones at Cojitambo. They transported blocks of

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

to their northern capital of Tomebamba, modern day Cuenca.Ogburn, Dennis (Winter 2004), "Power in Stone: The Long-Distance Movement of Building Blocks in the Inca Empire," ''Ethnology'', Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 123

References

External links

* http://www.ecostravel.com/en/ecuador/cities-destination/cojitambo-ruins-cuenca.php {{Coord, 2, 45, 36, S, 78, 53, 20, W, display=title, region:EC_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Cañar Province Archaeological sites in Ecuador Buildings and structures in Cañar Province Climbing areas of Ecuador