Entering towards Quitor, the Pukara de Quitor lies on the top of a hill on the river of San Pedro, this place is a old indigenous fort which dates from more than 700 years.

The Pukara de Quitor was declared National Monument in 1982. It is a pre Inca construction data of century XII. The Pukara de Quitor is done with stones that climb a hill as a fortification with a perimeter defensive wall. The ruins of the Pukara de Quitor are located in a bend of the gorge whose channel flows waters of the river San Pedro rio Grande (big river) and on an inclined plane of strong slope.

It takes his name from the pre-Hispanic agrarian grouping, the “Ayllu of Quitor”, whose fields of cultivates are born on the foot of the Pukara Quitor, fortification erected in the course of the XII century, as an answer to the expansionistic intentions of the Aymaras neighbors.

In the Pukara de Quitor, all the constructions are of stone, generally without a previous elaboration and extracted of the liparita bank, on which it is seated. The houses and their small attached silo, the defensive enclosures that are noticed in the periphery and assigned to the same defensive wall, the enclosures that store to the grains and watchtowers, cover in number of 160 and a surface of 6.18 acres.

Good part of the described slope has from its contiguous base to the cultivates fields to its culminating point, a height of 229,66 feet. The ceilings are always of single water, flat or with very little inclination: The same techniques have been used so much in Quitor as in Lasana: beams of chañar or carob tree, branches, straw of Ichu, mud covers.

In order to arrive at the Pukara de Quitor, from San Pedro de Atacama are 1,86 mi, 10 minutes in bicycle and 25 minutes on foot. To Catarpe are 3,11 mi more, 30 minutes in bicycle and 1 hour on foot. Course to the north by the Domingo Atienza street, take, always, following to the bed of the river that is crossed by furrow drains. In km 3 it appears the Pukara de Quitor, declared national monument that is administered and taken care by the atacameñas communities. The entrance has a value of $1,500 and the children pay $500.

The Pukara de Quitor has a strategic location: it is defended back by an insurmountable precipice and ahead, with a defensive wall in the most vulnerable part. It is impressive constructions that climbs a lofty hill and is formed by volumes constructed with great alternate stones with others smaller, united with earth mortar. To the center it emphasizes a semicircular building like tower.

The Pukara de Quitor dates from XII century and was reinforcing during the Inca’s occupation. In 1540, Francisco de Aguirre, advanced of the follower of Pedro de Valdivia, attacked with 30 soldiers mounted to horse, covers with shield of armor, carrying firearms and supported by around 1,000 yanaconas. The native ones did not know the metallic helmet, the horses or the demolishing roar of the rifles; everything which contributed to that the Spaniards exceeded the first defensive wall, forcing the defenders to surrender. The caciques were beheaded.

In 1981 the Pukara de Quitor was recovered, resuming activity in 1992 with contributions of the International Spanish Agency of Cooperation. In your visit you can raise until the summit, with spectacular Vista of the mountain range, the plane with ayllus and the valley of the San Pedro River that goes into between hills.

At the foot of the Pukara de Quitor and continuing 984,25 feet next to an irrigation channel it is arrived at the Square of Quitor, formed around an aged carob tree and in front of natural caves preceded by great heads of native, constructed recently in clay. It is recommended to continue this stroll until Catarpe going into the valley of the San Pedro River.

From the feet of Pukara de Quitor, it is necessary cross a river and to advance by a way that goes into the ayllu of Tambillos. After 1.55 mi and after by a hand right house, it leaves a way to the left that cross a river and raises by the gorge of the Bulls the hills of the front, which is part of the Mountain range of the Salt, until a tunnel finished in 1930, that crosses until the plane of the Patience and that was the old access road to San Pedro. A landslide obstructed it and today only it is possible to be crossed on by feet or in bicycle.

Returning by he same way, in km 3 there is a crossing in T. To the right, 656,17 feet, begins the Throat of the Devil.

It is necessary to leave the car in the entrance., due to is an attractive stroll to do it by feet or in bicycle that crosses a narrow passage between hills with a winding way bordered by vertical and sawed walls, created by the erosion of the softest layers of the Mountain range of the Salt; there calcareous quartz pieces and lines like of chalk can be seen, agglutinated with mud. It is necessary to return to the way next to the river and to continue river above. In km 5 it show up a footpath to the right, signalized by a disc and a number 10. It is recommended to leave the car and go up on feet by the hill, with strong slope until the summit where it is the Inca Administrative Center de Catarpe.

In the flat plateau on the hill is the first sector of ruins corresponding to a pre-Inca atacameño settlement. Towards the north, in the neighboring plateau to which it is acceded crossing the gorge is the Inca Administrative Center, dominating the valley. With 200 stone structures united with mud, it was an impressive center of Inca Empire that has not been recovered. When returning to the way from before and continuing river above, in the km 8, it is the Village of Catarpe, with the last houses and the Chapel of San Isidro, were built in 1913 by Italian Lucas Cenzano colon, and still taken care of by his descendants. The image of San Isidro was made in Bolivia. To return to San Pedro it is necessary to return by the same way.