Llaqtapata, Archaeological site in Santa Teresa District, La Convención Province, Peru.

Llaqtapata is an archaeological complex high on a ridge between the Ahobamba and Santa Teresa drainages, about 5 km west of Machu Picchu in La Convención Province, Santa Teresa District. Its stone walls hold niches, and the site sits above ravines, with views toward Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu.

Hiram Bingham found this site in 1912, but thorough study only started during the Thomson and Ziegler expedition in 2003. Those later investigations revealed the full extent of the settlement.

The Quechua name combines llaqta, a place or settlement, and pata, an elevated edge or bank, pronounced roughly 'yakta-pahta'. Bingham heard the name from local people in 1912, who told him the ruins were called Llacta Pata. The complex sits high on a ridge between the Ahobamba and Santa Teresa drainages, and its walls with niches face out over the ravines toward Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu.

The site requires physical effort and is best visited during dry season when trails are less slippery. Bring proper footwear and water, and allow plenty of time for the climb.

The 2003 Thomson and Ziegler survey found that Llaqtapata sits on the Inca Trail leading onward into Vilcabamba, and they proposed it served astronomical functions at the solstices and equinoxes. The site may have belonged to a network of administrative and ceremonial sites supporting Machu Picchu.