Seven Inca Pucaras on the Bolivian Frontier

The magnificent ruins in and around the Inka heartland at Cuzco and Machu Picchu are well known to millions of tourists, but numerous equally interesting sites scattered about the hinterland remain little-known and seldom visited. Some, known from references in the Spanish chronicles, remained to be documented, and perhaps even found, as recently as the 1990s.

The imperial frontier in present-day Bolivia, a region the Inkas called the “Charkas,” was rumored to be rich in such opportunities for exploration. It was an irresistible challenge, and off we went in search of the lost Inca “pucaras,” or fortresses, of southeastern Bolivia.

For two months we pursued sites scattered across a vast area of mountains and jungles, on foot, horseback, by 4WD jeep and, in one case, with an aged airplane. This paper is the story of that journey, what we found and what it told us about the Inka presence in that part of the world. Scientific adventure at its best!

Originally published as part of a collection of papers titled Investigations in Bolivia, a condensed version of this paper titled The Great Wall of the Incas was also published in the South American Explorer, Vol. 72, Summer 2003.