Pukara of La Compañía


Pukara de La Compañia is an archaeological site containing the remains of a promaucae fortress, later used by the Incas, located on the large hill overlooking the village of La Compañia, a village in the commune of Graneros, Chile. It is the southernmost building which remains of the Inca Empire. As such it is an important landmark on what is known as "The Chilean Inca Trail", and has been declared a National Monument by the Chilean government.

History

There are three main historical periods during which the site was occupied:

Description

The remains of the pukara consist of the bases of 7 circular structures, a major construction and other nearby buildings that may have been observation posts. In addition, the flat summit of the hill is surrounded by defensive perimeter walls.

Current situation

Pukara La Compañia was declared a Chile National Monument by Decree No. 1191, dated 11 March 1992. Nonetheless, the site lacks suitable access for tourists, and is neither maintained nor adequately protected by the authorities. This lack of respect for the archaeological heritage of the pukara is the evident in the installation of a large antenna of cellular telephony on the summit of the hill. The installation of this antenna, carried out in 1997, consisted of building an access road and movement of earth, which destroyed of one of the defensive walls.
As of 2012, O’Higgins Tours had enlisted the skills of graphic designer Eduardo Galdames for an archaeologically-based digital reconstruction of the site. The project is ongoing, will be for educational purposes and was partially funded by the Chilean government.