Ingapirca is situated approximately 80 kilometres from the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca. One kilometre below this photogenic little hillside town, the largest and most well-preserved archaeological site in Ecuador awaits. Comprised of various architectural units divided into three sections and built using a combination of adobe and blueish-green andesite stones, the complex was constructed during the Inca expansion into Ecuador towards the end of the fifteenth century, on a site that had been occupied by the Cañari people for over five hundred years. The Incas demolished many of the Cañari structures, replacing them with their own elaborate complex, the function of which is thought to have been a place of worship and a fortress. The main structure, known as the Temple of the Sun, is made up of a series of rooms, courtyards, cellars, and bathrooms as well as a vast oval-shaped platform made of incredibly intricately carved stone. There’s also a small museum (with an attached book and craft shop) displaying Cañari and Inca pots, tools, jewellery as well as a skeleton found on site.