| Hatun Pukara | |
|---|---|
The northern slope of Hatun Pukara (on the left), the village of Taray and the Willkanuta valley as seen from Ñustapata | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,000 m (13,000 ft) [1] |
| Coordinates | 13°26′23″S71°53′18″W / 13.43972°S 71.88833°W Coordinates: 13°26′23″S71°53′18″W / 13.43972°S 71.88833°W |
| Geography | |
  Hatun Pukara Peru | |
| Location | Peru, Cusco Region |
| Parent range | Andes |
Hatun Pukara (Quechua hatun big, pukara fortress, [2] "big fortress", hispanicized spelling Jatun Pucará) is a mountain in the Andes of Peru, about 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) high. It is located in the Cusco Region, Calca Province, on the border of the districts of Coya and Taray, southwest of Taray. It lies south of the Willkanuta River. [1]
Pukara is a defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area. In some cases, these sites acted as temporary fortified refuges during periods of increased conflict, while other sites show evidence for permanent occupation. Emerging as a major site type during the Late Intermediate Period, the pukara form was adopted in some areas by the Inca military in contested borderlands of the Inca Empire. The Spanish also referred to the Mapuche earthen forts built during the Arauco War in the 16th and 17th centuries by this term.
The Andes or Andean Mountains are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. This range is about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long, about 200 to 700 km wide, and of an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a megadiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains vertically extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon Basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon river.
