The archeological site of Samaipata Fort (elev. 1,900m/6,234ft) consists of the ceremonial center carved into a red sandstone rock and an administrative and residential district down the hill off to the right.

The carvings in the rock include representations of animals, geometric shapes, niches, canals, and ritual spaces. (The circle in the left foreground contains a jaguar facing right. The parallel channels leading to the top are known as the Snake Back because of zig-zag etchings that run alongside them. At the very top is a circular hole with seat niches around the rim known as the Chorus of Priests.) The Incas incorporated calendar features. The rock face down to the right formed part of at least five temples or sanctuaries.

The Chané of the Mojocoyas culture arrived here as early as 300 CE and began shaping the rock. The Incas made the site a provincial capital on the eastern frontier of their empire in the 14th century. It was a key defense against the warlike Chiriguanos of the Chaco region in the 1520s. (Samaipata means ‘resting place in the heights’ in Quechua, the language of the Incas.) The strategic location was also recognized by the Spaniards as they began to mine silver at Potosí to the southwest in 1545. (Erich von Däniken’s speculation in the 1960s that the rock was designed as a landing site for UFOs has been largely rejected.)

Fuerte de Samaipata was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

On Google Earth: