（社） 日本都市計画学会 都市計画論文集 No.

44-3 2009年 10月

Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan No. 44-3, October, 2009

72．Transformations of the cultural landscape in Andean rural historical areas

Chinchero village in the Inka Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru
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Maya Ishizawa* Mikiko Ishikawa** Hiromichi Fukui***
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Keywords: Andean cultural landscape, Historical heritage conservation, Sustainability, Inka Sacred Valley
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1. Introduction
The Inka Sacred Valley, shaped by the Vilcanota-Urubamba River in the department of Cusco in the Peruvian Andes, is the most attractive area
of the region from the tourist point of view because of the strong presence of Inka historical heritage. Although the area was declared “Cultural
Heritage of the Nation” in 2006, becoming subject of protection by the INC(1), the historical heritage and local culture are threatened by current
development schemes. The preservation of cultural landscapes has been found essential for planning a sustainable future since their inclusion in
the World Heritage Convention in 19921). Then, it is fundamental to underline the validity of the inherited landscape management tradition,
especially when it is at the risk of disappearing. The tourist route connecting the Inka settlements, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero and Pisaq, is
facing a rapid transformation. Nowadays, macro-projects for the protection of this area are in process of elaboration and implementation: the
Vilcanota Valley Rehabilitation and Management Project (WB-MINCETUR)(2) and the Master Plan for the Inka Sacred Valley (INC)(3).
Studies about the conservation of rural historical landscapes of outstanding value have been developed inside the framework of international
meetings of experts of UNESCO, such as the case of Bodobudur in Indonesia by Ken Taylor (2003)2), where the focus is put on the cultural
landscape as container of knowledge and memory, suggesting how to improve its current conservation methods by understanding its meaning
in its cultural context. On the other hand, the European Landscape Convention (2000)3) includes ordinary and degraded landscapes in their
scope of protection. Japanese Landscape Law (2004) also has enlarged the protection to rural and fisher villages promoting the participation of
local residents in the conservation task4). In the Andean area, one of the gene pools for agricultural diversity5), no regional instrument has been
established yet. Presently, in the Inka Sacred Valley, the conservation methods do not consider the interaction between nature and culture
maintained by local communities in the cultural landscape. Hence, this paper aims to rescue the value of the cultural landscape, through the
study of Chinchero, where the Inka historical heritage is enhanced by the rural landscape daily nurtured by the Andean communities inhabiting
it. The purpose is to clarify the historical landscape structure and the relation between its components still present, developing a method for
evaluating them from their historical participation in environmental planning, essential for sustainability. Some studies had concentrated in the
complex hydrological systems constructed by Inka people, such as the work of Tetsuya Kusuda in Pisaq (2001)6) and Kevin Wright in Tipon
(2006)7). Here, we emphasize environmental planning as the system of relations between water and soil that has been conceived by
pre-Hispanic cultures in The Andes where Human and Nature nurtured each other in a harmonic manner. By studying the existing conditions
of the historical landscape structure and the drivers of its transformation, urgent problems needing immediate actions are identified for the
proper management of this historical region towards its sustainable regeneration.

2. Methodology
First, the historical landscape structure of Chinchero is detected by the comparison of the Archeaological survey from Alcina (1976)8) to the
aerial photograph from S.A.N.(4) dated before 19909) and the current map digitized from Quickbird 2007 satellite image and Google Earth 2008,
validated with the maps of COFOPRI(5) , the Diagnosis and Strategic Plan of Chinchero10) and the fieldwork undertaken in January 2009. By

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comparing the historical maps and photographs of Chinchero, the growth of the village is detected and the original features from Inka planning
are revealed: the water system structuring the relationship between the mountain, the settlement and the gully, the architectural structures in the
Inka settlement connected to agricultural terraces and surrounded by vast agricultural fields. Our fieldwork developed during the summer of
2009 focused on: the survey of the sources of water and components of the water system as they are found to be the feature structuring the
cultural landscape; the identification of the borders of the village and its axis of expansion in order to find the relationship between the
settlement and its surrounding agricultural landscape and define the elements promoting its development; the identification of landscape views
in order to find the elements intruding and altering the harmony of the view to the cultural landscape features such as mountains, the high plain
and the historical heritage related to this environment. Through this survey the existing conditions of the village are determined in order to make
an evaluation of its resources, prioritizing the most valuable resources under pressure that should be protected. The priorities are determined
based on their participation in the pre-Hispanic environmental planning, nowadays, preserved in the Inka remains and in the living culture. Inka
planning has been found to be a sustainable manner for relating to environment through a proper management of resources developing
biodiversity in a difficult geography, by profiting the qualities of different ecological stories11) creating a particular manner to cultivate the earth
where rituals and the spiritual relation to nature are fundamental, therefore we consider it is important to preserve and protect it as an example to
follow nowadays. Finally, we present the governance situation by exploring the stakeholders for the resources found, in order to identify the
management problems and the possible stakeholders supporting the protection of the landscape resources found.

3. Existing conditions in Chinchero village

3.1 Settlement geography
Chinchero, capital of the district of the same name, in the province of
Urubamba, is located at 29 km. from the city of Cusco at 3,766 m.a.s.l.
Because of its location – not contiguous to Vilcanota-Urubamba River - its
landscape characteristics are slightly different from the rest of settlements of
the Valley. The Anta High Plains, at the side of Antasaqa Mountain, are
located at a higher altitude than the rest of the Inka Valley; the weather is
usually colder, making this area adequate for the cultivation of tubers,
especially potato. From this location one can see peaks from the Urubamba
moutainrange: Pitusiray, Pumahuanca, Salkantay and Chicón, regional
“Apus”(6), protectors of people, nature and food security. Outcrops and springs
are found in important areas of the Inka settlement working as axes for
settlement planning9). The original structure is defined by the mountain and the
gully; the ceremonial center and the terraces are located next to the gully
surrounding the mountain, following the slope.
3.2. Historical review MAP-1. Map of Chinchero
Archeological evidence shows that the Chinchero area has been inhabited for at least 2000 years10). The village, founded by the Spaniards in
1572 as the “Doctrine of Our Lady of Monserrat of Chinchero” on an important Inka ceremonial center, was originally a royal estate of the Inka
leader Tupac Yupanqui. Inka buildings, based on religious conceptions, were composed of a ceremonial plaza, terraces, fountains and water
canals9). The Inka structure dates from 13rd century, not long before the arrival of the Spanish Conquerors. The central part of the settlement,
contained in the Archaeological Park (MAP-1), is under the protection of the INC, and its access requires paying a ticket fee. The settlement is
composed, as the majority of settlements along the Valley, of several layers from different historical stages grouped in 4 main periods: Pre-Inka,
Inka, Colonial, and Contemporary. The central square or “Plaza” that represents the core of the village has been progressively re-located to the
SW (MAP-1: A,B,C,D), in each of the different historical stages: during the Inka period the core was in the esplanade in the NE (D) next to the
gully, then it was re-located to the front of the Church during colonial times (C). During the past century it was moved to a lower part of the
village, near the highway (B) and finally, recently, the new central square has been placed next to the highway in the SW (A), consolidating the
growth trend of the village on that side.

4. Evaluation: Characteristics and resources of Andean cultural landscape

The identification, localization and evaluation of each component found in the landscape of Chinchero as a resource is shown in maps, listed
and evaluated in tables. Three components were analyzed as structuring this rural historical landscape: the water system, the historical heritage
and the land use, as they were found preserved through the historical comparison and the fieldwork. We propose five criteria to determine the
value of each resource from the point of view of its importance for the cultural landscape (Table-1 and Table-2); we mark (S): when the

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resource is essential for the Sustainability of the entire landscape, (C): when the resource is important in the local worldview, as a Cultural
feature, (H): when the resource has a Historical value, (B): when the resource is important in favoring the regeneration of Biodiversity and (E):
when the resource contributes to Economical development. The value rank goes from 5 to 1 depending on the number of criteria that the
resource fulfills.
4.1 Water system
Water in the Andean world is sacred and an essential element when planning a settlement9). Five main streams were detected, three of them
associated with the old Inka settlement (MAP-2: 1,2,3) while the other two (MAP-2: 4,5) were related during Inka Period to agricultural fields
and now are serving the growing urban areas. The Inka water system has been studied by Alcina8), who identified its major value in the
complexity of the irrigation and drainage systems. In this study, these irrigation and drainage systems were found preserved in two manners: the
structure without the function inside the Inka Archaeological Park remains (MAP-2 and Table-1: 11,12) and the structure remodeled
accomplishing its original function inside the village (MAP-2 and Table-1: 8,9,10). Water natural sources (Table-1: 1,2,3,4,5,17) that belong to
the original landscape of this area and the canalizations made by Inka people (Table-1: 8,11,12) correspond to the most valuable resources
because they are part of the history of the landscape (criteria H), basic for maintaining the culture: sources of water are essential for cultivating
and for rituality (criteria C), essential for the sustainability (criteria S) and the maintenance of biodiversity (criteria B) nesting life and nurturing
the diverse agricultural products, therefore needed for the economical sustenance of the cultural landscape (criteria E).

MAP-2. Water system in Chinchero MAP-3. Historical Heritage in Chinchero

Table-1: Water system evaluation in Chinchero Table-2. Historical Heritage evaluation in Chinchero

4.2 Historical heritage

The historical heritage is composed of Inka and Spanish architecture from Inka and Colonial periods, located within the protected area (MAP-3:
HC, AR, T, C). The buildings inside the Archaeological Park have been considered for the plan of conservation made by the INC12). The
terraces, in process of restoration, were evaluated as the most valuable resource (Table-2: T) in the historical heritage due to their originality as
systems for cultivating diverse agricultural products in this region and their importance as a feature preserved from Inka period. The agricultural

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fields and their patterns characterize the landscape inherited from the pre-Inka period, delimited by hedges composed by native species that
improve the biodiversity of species, protect from erosion and weather conditions particular conditions. Consequently, they are also considered
most valuable resources (Table-2: AF1, AF2, AF3, AF4). Nevertheless, an important feature of Chinchero’s historical heritage is the rural
houses, some of them abandoned in the South side of the protected area (MAP-3: R). Heritage existent outside the Archaeological Park is in
danger because it lacks of protection such as the outcrops and other features from the landscape that inhabitants consider as sacred (MAP-3: o).
4.3 Land use
Since there are not formal limits for the urban area, Chinchero appears as a rurban
core located in the border area of the three communities: Yanacona, Cuper and
Ayllupongo, sheltering 4,500 inhabitants. Cuper and Ayllupongo are
communities originating in the Inka period(7), however, their structure has been
modified since Inka times(8), the limits of the communities are not respecting the
relation to the “ayllus”(9) that they formerly had. Although a certain degree of
urbanization, the settlement is still deeply involved in a rural way of life, without
the features that characterize urban area: there are no industries and the land use is
in its majority devoted to the cultivation of agricultural products. The historical
area is mainly residential. Art crafts shops, restaurants, retail stores and one hotel
are scattered around the former Central Square (MAP-1: B). The main axis of
development of the settlement is the highway, where shops and dwellings are
located to the South and to the NW, and the secondary axis are the nearly parallel
roads coming from the center to the outskirts of the settlement (MAP-4).

5. Analysis of resources under pressure

In this section we identify the problems pressing the cultural landscape, putting the
natural and cultural resources in danger. MAP-4. Land use of Chinchero
5.1. Pressure of development MAP-4. Land use of Chinchero
5.1.1 Modernization: The highway and the airport
The highway was constructed in 1986, connecting Cusco city with Urubamba.
The highway was a major feature for the transformation of the landscape, dividing
the communities of Ayllupongo and Cuper. It has become the main axis of
development of the expansion area directing the urban extension to the NW and
South sides of Chinchero, and risking intrusion to natural protected areas:
Fig. 3 Rurban Architecture
Ponccolay lake in the SW and Piuray lake in the SE. Except for the presence of the
Fig. 1 Highway development
highway, the layout of the Inka settlement has been preserved. However, new
constructions along the highway are changing the face of Chinchero, transforming
it into a rurban settlement (Fig.1 and Fig 3), changing the aspect of the original
settlement formerly composed of earthen and thatched roofed rural architecture to
brick, concrete and metal roofs generating the loss of character of the cultural
landscape. Moreover, a major threat would be the construction of the New
International Airport of Chinchero, a project aiming to bring foreign visitors’ Fig. 2 Intrusion in Agricultural fields Fig. 4 Dry Inka canal
directly to the Valley. The location would be next to Chinchero Archaeological Park, in the Western agricultural fields (MAP-3: AF2).
5.1.2. Tourism
The increasing tourism is affecting the local habits; transforming the agriculture oriented way of life to that of an urban center. An example is
the traditional Sunday market where the products being sold were mainly agricultural products and now they sell mainly art crafts from the area.
Chinchero’s market has been famous because it preserved the bartering system13), but now, it is becoming a tourist handicraft market.
5.1.3. Pollution: Water and Waste
According to the authorities of Chinchero(10), waste management is a major problem affecting the water sources in the town. The lack of
appropriate sewage and waste management systems, transforms the streams of the area in garbage dumps, which becomes a bigger problem
when there is scarcity of water since more than 95% of the water extracted from Piuray Lake goes to feed the city of Cusco10).
5.2. Resources under pressure
After detecting the problems of development we determine three types of pressure that local resources are facing: Modernization, Tourism and

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Pollution (Table-1; Table-2: M, T, P). Then we rank the degree of pressure as

HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW (Table-3) according to the number of types of
pressure one resource is facing (Tables 1 and 2: 1,2,3; 3 being the higher pressure).
As we showed in section 4 the main resources are the water system composed by
natural streams and the Inka canalizations, the historical architecture and the
agricultural fields inherited from Inka times. We combine the results of value and
pressure in order to draw a map and a table where we can identify the resources
facing the higher pressure and needing urgent actions for protection. First, in
Table-3, we find that the most valuable and pressed resources are the agricultural
fields with Value 5 and HIGH pressure (MAP-5: AF1, AF2, AF3, AF4) and the
streams 3 and 4 in MAP-5. AF1, AF2 and AF3 are designed to become urban
areas in the new zoning map of Chinchero14), and the new airport is planned to be
located next to AF2. The streams 3 and 4 are under a major pressure, because of
pollution (waste and detergents disposal) and the scarcity of water causing the
increasing use of these natural sources, especially for irrigation purposes. As a
consequence of the loss of agricultural fields and the pollution of the stream
feeding them, the most valuable feature of the traditional landscape will MAP-5. Chinchero’s resources under pressure
progressively disappear. Second, natural water resources in Table-3 (1,2,5,6,17)
and the Inka irrigation system (11,12) having Value 5 withstand a MEDIUM
pressure due to modernization and pollution (Table-1). This irrigation system is
not in use and the terraces are not being cultivated. Third, the drainage system
inherited from Inka period (Table 3: ,9,10) and lately modified during the colonial
period withstand MEDIUM pressure are not properlymaintained, Table-3: Resources under pressure
covered by natural grass (Map-5: 10; Fig.4) or have been restored with concrete, abandoning the traditional technique (Map-5: 9). The
architectural heritage (Table-3: HC, AR) contained inside the Archaeological Park is in process of restoration but withstanding MEDIUM
pressure due to tourism activities in the protected area. The pour point (Table-3; MAP-5: 15) is open and some people uses it for washing
clothes, therefore, the risk of polluting the water of the village is strong.

6. Governance
The stakeholders surveyed are the institutions and organizations in charge of the protection or in
charge of the regulations referring to the resources found in the cultural landscape, as well as the land
owners for the agricultural areas being private or communal10). In Table-4 we identify stakeholders
for each resource found in section 4, based on the established protection or administration from the
resources by the Municpality and the INC and the participation of NGO in projects related to their
protection and development. The resources are listed and the institutions or organizations in charge
of them are marked in Table-4. Traditionally, communities were in charge of the regeneration of the
landscape: cleaning streams and irrigation canals is a collective task still performed by communities
in the water festivals. Before colonial times, the “ayllu” were in charge of protecting and
worshipping the streams and canals within their lands15). Colonization transformed Andean polities, Table-4: Stakeholders for Chinchero resources
but the community values are still present in rural areas and it is possible to strengthen this capacity for the protection of the landscape.
Nowadays, SEDACUSCO, the company in charge of water management depending on the Municipality of the District that is also responsible
for the development plan, has the essential role for the protection of this basic resource. On the other hand, INC is in charge of managing the
Archaeological Park, including its conservation and restoration. However, a part of the communities of Cuper and Yanacona, are found within
the Archaeological Park, then, their role would be as main actors in the preservation of the heritage. Nonetheless, the majority of the agricultural
fields surrounding the settlement do not belong to the communities but to private owners and companies that export or utilize the crops as raw
material (e.g. Backus, the beer corporation buys the barley). Consequently the maintenance of the agricultural fields is a major issue because of
the difficult control of the ownerships. Social and non-governmental organizations (N.G.O.) are running projects related to community
development (ARARIWA, ADEHPRI), territorial planning (PRONAMACH, FAO) and associations and committees composed by local
people: Association of Farming Producers, Irrigation Committee, Management Committee for the Piuray Ccorimarca watershed, Management
Committee for the Huaypo Yanacona watershed, the District Federation of Artisans of Chinchero, among others. Notwithstanding, these

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organizations are focused in the economic development of communities due to the political emphasis put on the market and the necessity to
incorporate Andean communities to the national and global economy where the major concern is not the preservation of the cultural landscape,
even though it is an essential asset for their economic development. When the importance of the cultural landscape as essential for a sustainable
environmental planning, would be clarified and assumed, these committees should be supporting stakeholders for the preservation of the
ecologically sustainable local vision.

7. Conclusions
The Inka Sacred Valley is an example of habitation over time with respectful interventions in nature. Paradoxically, the main problems faced
nowadays concern the main assets found in Inka planning.
In this study, we develop a method for detecting the historical landscape structure through the historical comparison of Chinchero,
understanding the different layers composing its cultural landscape, finding the components of Inka environmental planning that have been
preserved over time: the water system feeding the agricultural fields and structuring the settlement. By studying their existing conditions, we
identify the most pressed resources also found the most valuable through the evaluation: the agricultural fields and the historical water system
originated in pre-Hispanic times, clarifying the current drivers of transformation affecting them: modernization, tourism and pollution. Through
the study of the authorities and stakeholders of these resources, we understand that there is a need to clarify the role of private owners and
communities in the preservation of a sustainable land use. There is a strong need to implement policies protecting the agricultural fields and
reorienting a chaotic development that does not consider the culture, the environment or the sustainability of Chinchero’s cultural landscape.
Developing this method for other settlements in the region would be instrumental in order to find common guidelines and regional strategies for
planning the conservation of the Andean cultural landscape in rural historical areas like the Inka Sacred Valley.
Acknowledgements: The fieldwork for this research has been funded by Mori Memorial Research Grant and Keio University, Graduate School of
Media and Governance, Environmental Design and Governance program fund.
8. Notes
(1) INC, abbreviation for National Institute of Culture of Peru, state institution in charge of protecting and restoring Peruvian cultural and historical heritage (Law 29286).
(2) WB, abbreviation for World Bank, MINCETUR, abbreviation for Ministry of Commerce and Tourism of Peru.
(3) Master Plan for the Inka Valley currently being developed by INC and other institutions such as Municipalities of the Provinces within the area.
(4) S.A.N. abbreviation for Servicio Aereofotográfico Nacional (National Aerial Photgraphic Service).
(5) COFOPRI, abbreviation for Organism for the Formalization of the Informal Property.
(6) “Apu” is the Quechua name for Andean deities and it is used mainly for landmarks such as mountains.
(7) Franquemont (1990) talks about the Andean division of Chinchero in Hanan (Upperlands), that would be Cuper and Hurin (Lowerlands), that would be Ayllupongo.
(8) During the Colonization of Andean territory by Spaniards, Inka polity and territorial planning were transformed to an estate system.
(9) “Ayllu” is the Quechua name for the communities, linked by the land, culture or family ties.
9. References
1) World Heritage Centre, UNESCO (2008) “Operational Guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention”, Annex 3, pp. 86. UNESCO WHC.
2) Taylor, Ken (2003) “Cultural Landscape As Open Air Museum” in Humanities Research vol.10, no 2
3) Council of Europe (2000), “European Landscape Convetion”, European Treaties Series-No 176, Florence, Italy
4) Ikebe, Konomi (2005), “Landscapes as Cultural Assets-The New Landscape Law Tests the Public’s Sensibilities and Behavior”, NLI Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
5) World Heritage Centre, UNESCO (2003), “World Heritage Papers 7: Cultural Landscapes: The Challenges of Conservation”, pp. 14. UNESCO WHC, Paris, France
6) Kusuda, Tetsuya , et al (2001) “Water supply and Drainage system in Pisac, the Remains of Inca”, Environmental Engeneering Research, vol. 38
7) Wright, Kevin (2006) “Tipon, Water Engineering Masterpiece of the Inca Empire”, American Society of Civil Engineers, USA
8) Alcina, José (1976) “Arqueología de Chinchero”. Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Direccion General de Relaciones Culturales, Junta para la Proteccion de Monumentos y
Bienes Culturales en el Exterior, España
9) Hyslop, John. ( 1990) “Inka Settlement Planning”. University of Texas Press, USA
10) Ministerio de la Vivienda, Construcción y Saneamiento, Municipalidad de Chinchero (2006) “Diagnóstico y Propuesta de Ordenamiento Urbano rural participativo del
centro poblado de Chinchero”. Municipality of Chinchero, Cusco, Peru
11) Murra, John (1985) “El Archipiélago Vertical” Revisited in “ Andean Ecology and Civilization, An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Andean Ecological Complementarity”,
Papers from Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Symposium no 91”. University of Tokyo Press, Japan
12) Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Municipality of Chinchero (2005) “Plan del Parque Arqueológico de Chinchero”. Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Peru
13) Franquemont, Christine (1990)“ The ethnobotany of Chinchero, an Andean community in southern Peru”. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA
14) Ministerio de la Vivienda, Construcción y Saneamiento, Municipalidad de Chinchero (2006) “Zoning Map of Chinchero Village”. Municipality of Chinchero, Cusco, Peru
15) Bauer, Brian (1998) “The sacred landscape of the Inca”. University of Texas Press, USA.

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