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The huge, steep terraces that form the outer
defences of the fortress successfully repelled a
Spanish attack in 1536.
Manco Inca had equipped the fortress with jungle
archers from the nearby Amazon basin and the
conquistadors suffered terribly from these
archers and from the large quantities of
boulders that were continually hurled down the
hillside at them. The natives also diverted the
nearby Patacancha river to flood the plain, soon
causing the cavalry to be wallowing in mud up to
the horses waists. The Spaniards retreated
rapidly to Cuzco, pursued aggressively by the
emboldened natives. |
