Stock Photography Online Digital Library

Traveller Dreams - Sell Travel photos on line Traveller Dreams - Sell Travel photos on line
- Posters & Prints - Stock Photos - Web Graphics -
enter keyword to search:
Images db
Articles db
 Stock photo Location
 Stock photo Subject
 Cusco
 Cusco the Inca City
 Inca Trail
 Machu Picchu
 Urubamba: the Sacred Valley of the Incas
 Cusco Region
 Arequipa, the white city
 Colca Cañyon
 Machupicchu and Inca ruins on the inca trail
 Incan Architecture
 Cusco and Urubamba valley
 Incan Terraces
>> Home > Peru
Peru Index
Incan Architecture
The Inca civilization has left an immense architectural legacy: 
the lost city of Machu Picchu certainly one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world; 
Inca walls that still support the most important buildings in Cusco, surviving various earthquakes and the impressive 500-year old agricultural terraces where Peruvians still grow food. 
Colca canyon Peru Stock pictures

Terraces in Colca Valley


The Incan architecture is characterized by the use of finely carved stones perfectly locked without the use of mortar, a building technique that impresses even today. The Inca worked stones with unparalleled precision and unusual shapes fitting them tightly together, as exemplified by the famous "twelve-cornered stone" found in a wall of the palace of the Inca Roca in Cusco. The most utilized rocks were granites or the soft calcareous rocks, like in Sacsayhuaman ramparts. Usually rocks were quarried close to the site of that particular construction utilising locally available rocks. However, the quarry might be several kilometres distant like in Ollantaytambo where huge blocks were quarried from the other side of the Urubamba Valley. There are still some doubts regarding how stones weighing hundreds of tons were fitted together with such a high precision in remarkable structures, without iron tools or knowledge of the wheel. The only logical hypothesis is that the measures and shape of the stones were preliminary taken making use of maquettes made of clay, or modeling long silver bands. 
Even if largely modified during the colonial and more modern times Chinchero Pisaq and Ollantaytambo can be considered typical Inca towns, while in Cusco the original inca plan of the city can still be traced along the streets of the modern town.


Incan walls 
Most of the Incan walls are found around Cusco and the Urubamba Valley in the Peruvian Andes. Beautiful examples are Sacsayhuaman, the fortress of Cusco, the Koricancha or temple of the sun the master piece of the Inca architecture, the wall that includes the famous 12-sided stone, and the beautiful six monoliths of red porphyry of the temple in Ollantaytambo in the Urubamba valley. 
Typical of the Inca’s walls is the use of trapezoidal stones with perfect and polished junctures and a slight vertical inclination a combination of massiveness and precision. Constructed of ashlars laid in courses that get progressively thinner upwards, the walls have a pleasing appearance and a stability and balance that formed indestructible anti-seismic structures that were able to resist the huge earthquakes that destroyed other colonial buildings.

Koricancha Peru Stock pictures

Koricancha


There are five basic models of Incan walls and stones: 
the rustic type "Pirka": used in terraces and common houses,
the Cell Type: small polygonal limestone with the aspect similar to a honeycomb, we can find examples of this type in Chinchero. 
the Enchased Type: made of igneous stones, examples are the Main Temple in Ollantaytambo, the Three-Window Temple in Machupicchu, Hatun Rumiyoq in Cusco, etc. 
the Imperial Inca: consisting of stones of a regular dimensions with perfect and polished junctures like in Koricancha Temple. 
the Cyclopean or Megalithic Type: with enormous dimensions of oddly shaped blocks. Examples are cyclopean walls contain individual blocks estimated to weigh over 100 tons of Sacsayhuaman fortress, and like the pink porfid of the Temple in Ollantaytambo.

Hatun Rumiyoq Inka wall

Cusco stock photographs


Fountains and liturgical baths 
Fountains were the water is flowing sometimes through a quite complex stone channels system, are common on Inca sites. The archaeological site of Tambomachay, the "Bath of the Inca" is a beautiful example. This site consists of massive stonewalls, at several levels, with elegant niches, and a series of water fountains cascading from channels hidden within the structure. 
The water was brought through channels carved in the stone similar to those that can be seen at Pisac
A water supply channel might feed a single fountain such as the Baño de la Ñusta in Ollantaytambo. But fountains and baths were also arranged in long series, such as at Phuyupatamarca, with six serial fountains; or like at Machu Picchu, with 16 fountains, each different from the rest, and with diverging and re-joining water channels.


Agricultural architecture 
Probably the most ambitious constructions undertaken by the Incas are the innumerable sets of agricultural terraces built on mountainsides and in river bottoms throughout the Inca Empire. Known as andenes, terraces were formed with stone retaining walls, holding good topsoil sometimes carried up the mountain from the valley below. Spectacular terraces at Pisac are still cultivated today. The individual terraces are accessed by stepping stones into the terrace walls. At Machu Picchu, the andenes of the "agricultural sector", likely could have produced foodstuffs for all the inhabitants of the city. Fertile valley bottomlands were also terraced and riverbanks walled to protect these richest lands from erosion, beautiful examples can be found in the Colca valley.
Adobe the Peruvian traditional house 
Among the materials still used today since the Incan times we can find the adobe. Many buildings and even entire villages are made with this material. Adobe bricks are made with good quality clayey soil mixed with the "ichu", and in some cases with alpaca wool and finally sun dried. All these materials are mixed with water, placed in rectangular molds and dried with the sun. The adobe buildings are still preferred in the Andes because they are cheap and have good thermal properties.

Machu Picchu terraces

Machu Picchu stock photographs




  Related Pages
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Cities of Peru
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - The archaeological legacy
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Incan Architecture
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Colonial architecture
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Natural Landscapes
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Trekking and Hiking in Peru
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Birdwatching
  - Peru Stock Photography Index - Culture & Traditions


Welcome to Traveller Dreams on-line stock Photo Gallery. This website provides a large and growing original collection of high quality high resolution photographs/pictures immediately available to browse. 
Our photography online Library is a source of worldwide unpublished images with online search facility for genuine photo buyers, a major collections of digital downloadable stock pictures for fast and efficient delivery. 
With our Web Site Picture buyers may conveniently access inspirational photography from around the world. Images are organised coherently with an intuitive navigation so you can find what you want with the fewest number of mouse clicks. Our photos are indexed according to categories and keywords. Browse through picture categories for ideas and inspiration. 

Our stock photography expertise is in the category of active adventure travel experience: the country, the places, the culture, people,the architecture.
Our catalog covers numerous themes: from landscape nature stock photography to architectural details photography, still life, religious photography, outdoor photography, scenic photography, travel photograph, people photo, background photo, Beach, Coastal, Forests, Geography, Habitats, Landscapes, mountain photo, Plants, Rivers. Stock Photos collection of Cities and City Skylines, Lifestyles; Stock Photography of Architecture and Tourism Destinations; Rural lifestyle, archaeology photography, traditional markets, bazaar suks photography indigenous and native people.
The extensive range of editorial images will stimulate the imagination.
vibrant color images from around the World Europe & Mediterranean destinations and landscape photography (particularly Italy, Europe) plus a selective worldwide coverage.
Photography gallery which showcases the European cultural heritage, stock Photography web gallery of landscape and Mediterranean nature.
New places around the world are continuously added to our photo collection.
All the photographs on this site have been scanned up to 50Mb file size for immediate use. High resolution scans are delivered ready within 1 day of ordering.

You can purchase

fine art print
License for print editorial use (newspapers, magazines, brochures, etc.)
or license for non-print use (web, CD-ROM, video games, etc.)

Fine-art Print


Our photo library is perfect if you look for fine art photography
We sell Photographic Prints as fine art in custom-made beautiful photo print made with the latest photographic print digital technology.
Architectural stock photography Gallery of beach sea cost and villages pictures
Photo archaeology sites Landscape stock photo gallery
Nature stock photography Corsica stock photography and scenic picture
Cusco Peru Travel photos Tunisia Travel pictures photos of Culture and Civilization
Mediterranean nature and landscape photos Gallery Portugal images picture gallery Images of Lisbon Alentejo
High quality Italian Images of Lake Como Images of Turkey Istanbul
Pictures of Spain and Andalucia photos Sardinia Pictures
Gallery of Brittany France photos Sicily picture photo gallery
Mountain Pictures Trees stock photographs
Pictures of Venice Italy and its architecture Photo of Croatia Split Dubrovnik

STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY       STOCK PHOTOS       PICTURES       WEB IMAGES       RIGHT MANAGED  STOCK PHOTOGRAPHS



Terms and Conditions :: Privacy Policy :: Contact Us
Copyright © TRAVELLER DREAMS. All rights reserved.