"Dear Hot Expeditions, greetings from England and thank you very much for the days in Ica, Nazca Lines and Paracas National Reserve. James and I enjoyed the time under your guidance and keep fond memories of our visit to the central coast of Peru. Many thanks to Hot Expeditions!"
Tambo Colorado is a well-preserved Inca adobe complex,
also know as Puka Tampu, Pucallacta or Pucahuasi, (puka means red in Quechua).The site is located on the central coast of Peru in the Pisco River Valley, 265 km to the south of Lima, via the Panamerican Highway, about 40 km along the highway to Ayacucho know as the Via de los Libertadores, (San Clemente - Ayacucho), close to the town of Pisco.
An Inca fortress and probably the best-preserved ancient architectural complex, this outpost is thought to have been an administration checkpoint for Andean coastal migration. It owes their name to the predominance of the red color in their constructions.
This city strength was ordered to build for the Inca Pachacúteq, in the last quarter of the XV century, then that it conquered the Yungas (preinca tribe) that occupied this valley.
Unlike other archaeological sites, where the characteristic vibrant colors have long faded, here at least some of the original red, white, and yellow walls are still preserved. (The name of the complex, colorado, refers to the red color of the walls.) This archeological complex has access openings of trapezoidal form with "double jambs" which is a decoration usedonly in very significant buildigns, as those existing in the fortress of Machu Picchu and the Temple of Qoricancha in the city of Cuzco.
Also unique in the Inca canon, the structures here were constructed not of neatly cut stone, but of materials that could be used for long-term construction, given the lack of rain on the desert coast. The complex contains a central plaza, storehouses, living quarters, and military installations.
Its construction obeyed the politics of the Tahuantinsuyo of control of conquered areas, and as other establishments of its type, it was quickly abandoned after the fall of the Inca state.
