Phutuq K’usi, also spelled Putucusi, is a round-shaped mountain located on the opposite (northeast) side of the Urubamba River from Machu Picchu, in the Cusco Region of Peru. It is the smallest of the three mountains — together with Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu — that frame the valley where the archaeological site stands, and it forms part of the core of the Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary. It reaches approximately 2,560 meters (8,400 feet) above sea level at its highest point.
Geologically, it belongs to the eastern foothills of the Salcantay massif, within the Vilcabamba batholith, in the Central Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes.
The origin of the name is not fully settled. Some Quechua-speaking guides translate it as "happy mountain," from "kusi" (happy); another reading, based on a Quechua-English dictionary, suggests that "phutuq" derives from "bud" and "k’usi" refers to a cucurbit species, so the name would mean something close to "budding zucchini." Quechua has numerous dialectal variants, which accounts for this double interpretation. Together with Machu Picchu ("old peak") and Wayna Picchu ("young peak"), Phutuq K’usi is considered an apu, a sacred mountain, by the local Quechua population.
Unlike its two neighbors, no Inca structures have been found on Phutuq K’usi itself. Its slopes are covered by dense cloud forest, with pisonay and alder trees, ferns, and around a hundred species of orchids, along with a notable diversity of birds and insects.
Along this stretch of its course, the Urubamba flows through a narrow gorge between mountains, tracing very tight meanders around the isolated peaks that rise from the valley — the same phenomenon by which the river wraps around three sides of the ridge on which Machu Picchu sits, on the other side of the channel. Around Phutuq K’usi the river traces an equally pronounced curve, hugging the base of the mountain. At the far end of the valley, on stone terraces, stepped structures can be seen: the agricultural terraces of Machu Picchu, from where this view of the mountain and the river is often obtained.
Aguas Calientes, Urubamba, Cusco, Perú
Camera: Canon EOS 750D / Rebel T6i / Kiss X8i
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
Capture Information:
Focal Length: 18.0 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 1000
Photo Taken: March 13, 2019
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