Pukara de La Compañia, Pre-Hispanic fortress on hill near La Compañía village, Chile
Pukara de La Compañía is an archaeological site on a hilltop near La Compañía village featuring circular stone structures and defensive perimeter walls. The ruins sit about 677 meters high in the Rancagua Valley with wide views of the surrounding landscape.
The Promaucae people built this fortress between 1380 and 1450 to defend against Inca invasions. It marked the southernmost reach of Inca territorial expansion in the region.
The name pukara comes from the Quechua word for fortress. The site is a National Monument and a landmark on the Chilean Inca Trail, marking the southernmost surviving Inca building. Visitors can see the bases of seven circular structures and defensive walls on the flat summit.
The site sits on a hilltop and requires sturdy shoes and plenty of water, especially on hot days. Access can be challenging, so visitors should bring appropriate gear and be prepared for some walking.
The summit's flat ridge is crowned by a large cellular telephone antenna installed in 1997; its access road and earthworks cut through 4 metres of a defensive perimeter wall. As of 2012, O'Higgins Tours had commissioned graphic designer Eduardo Galdames to build an archaeologically based digital reconstruction of the site, partly funded by the Chilean government.
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