CUARTO DE RESCATE

Though the volcanic rock has not weathered as well as the granite in Cusco, there is no mistaking the perfect Inca stonework at the Cuarto de Rescate (8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 2:15–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 8:30 a.m.–noon weekends, admission included with Complejo Belén). The house was probably part of an Inca sun temple, destroyed long ago by the Spaniards, and has a stone canal that once gurgled with water. It was this room, tour guides say, that Atahualpa filled entirely with gold objects for his ransom. But the existing white line, which Atahualpa supposedly drew to mark the level, is almost certainly a fake. One of the chroniclers, Cristobal de Mena, wrote that the line was so tall that even the reach of the tallest of the Spaniards fell about a palm short. By this reckoning, the line must have been about two meters and four centimeters. John Hemming and other historians contend that this room is where Atahualpa was probably held captive—the ransom room was smaller, with a capacity of 88 cubic meters.

There are many artistic renderings of the first encounter between Pizarro and Athualpa, though few are accurate. Examples include the paintings hanging near the entrance by local artists Camilo Blas, who painted Inca soldiers deserting Atahualpa at the moment of his capture, and Andres Zevallos, who depicted the Inca being burnt to death. The truth is quite different, according to eyewitness accounts written by Pedro Pizarro. Atahualpa’s servants were so loyal, he says, that the Spaniards had to kill them or hack off their arms before they could pull the Inca from the litter. Also Atahualpa was not burned—he was hung from a rope.