Ruins of Quilmes Indian Settlement

Me at the Quilmes Ruins
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter.

In Tafi del Valle I met a nice group of Argentines from Cordoba: Matias, Emmanuel, Facundo, Badim and Rodrigo, and we happened to be on the same bus the following morning to Quilmes to see the ruins, together with a Porteña, Maria. The ruins actually provided a very good taster for my Machu Picchu trip in June. The settlement was founded in around 800DC and was eventually used as a fortress to protect themselves from the Inca invasions. They managed to fight off their aggressors, but unfortunately didn`t survive the Conquistadores. Those that weren´t killed in defending themselves were sent to Buenos Aires and either died of European diseases, to which they had little natural resistance or refused to accept these conditions of submission. The layout of this hillside settlement is still clearly visible, thanks to the restoration, and you can make out the cooking quarters (round) and the living quarters (rectangular) and all of this in fantastic mountainous and cactus spotted surroundings.

Here are the photos.