Chinchero, With Walls and Towers Girdled Round

PHOTOGRAPHER'S JOURNAL:  Unlike most Incan villages, Chinchero was first destroyed by the Incas themselves in retreat to prevent the palaces here from falling into the hands of the invading conquistadors. By 1572 orders had been given for construction of the present day church. It is likely the date painted inside, 1607, marks its completion. It was only in the 1960s that the finely carved walls of the old Incan palace were discovered beneath, serving as foundation for the church.  When the church was constructed, the old palace walls had been filled to the level of the roof with soil brought from elsewhere. 

Chinchero is another of those places that begs for leisure. On the one hand, I want to walk every street, photograph every door and window detail, every mud brick with an interesting plant growing over it. On the other hand, I want to stand back, explore the spaces, capture the expansiveness of the plains and mountains here. It is an ideal place to stop and watch light transforming surfaces, remolding spaces, recollecting moods.