Tarmatambo

Tarmatambo was an Inca administrative centre on a hillside south of Tarma in the central Peruvian Andes. Its planned complex included storehouses, terraces, plazas, stairways and long halls known as kallankas. The buildings and paths occupied different levels of the slope, overlooking the surrounding highland country.

The centre stood on the great Inca road between Cuzco and Quito. Its position allowed imperial officials to manage people and resources in the Tarma region while providing a stopping place on the route through the mountains. Above the main settlement, the associated storehouses at Pirhua Pirhua formed another important part of this extensive hillside complex. The storehouses and halls demonstrate the close connection between movement, storage and administration in the Inca provincial system.