T'akaq, Mountain summit in Huanuco Department, Peru

T'akaq is a mountain of nearly 4,000 metres in the Chavinillo District, Yarowilca Province, Huánuco Region, Peru, with an archaeological site of the same name. On a grassy slope stands a weathered ruin of stone set in mud mortar, roughly rectangular and taller than it is wide, its tan, orange, brown and grey stones pierced by a lower rectangular hollow and an upper gap. Low dry-stone walls run outward from its base, which dense low plants partly hide.

T'akaq is a mountain of nearly 4,000 metres in the Chavinillo District of Yarowilca Province, Huánuco Region, and it carries an archaeological site of the same name. The sources record no excavation dates or builders; the stone and mud-mortar ruin on its grassy slope, with a lower rectangular hollow and an upper gap, is the visible trace of that site. Its Quechua name, from t'akay, "to scatter", gives the Hispanicized forms Tacacc and Tacaj.

The name T'akaq derives from Quechua t'akay, "to scatter or spread", with the suffix -q, giving "the one that scatters". Hispanicized spellings Tacacc and Tacaj are also recorded, and alternative readings link it to takay, "to hit", or t'aqay, "to separate". The archaeological site on the mountain carries the same name.

The archaeological site lies near the village of Chavinillo in Chavinillo District, Yarowilca Province, at almost 4,000 m (13,123 ft). The stone structure in the photograph stands on a grassy slope, with low dry-stone walls running out from its base on both sides. Approach from Chavinillo and allow time to acclimatise before walking at this altitude.

The name T'akaq derives from Quechua t'akay, "to scatter or spread", with the suffix -q; Hispanicized variants include Tacacc and Tacaj, and takay ("to hit") and t'aqay ("to separate") are also proposed roots. The archaeological site sharing the name lies near Chavinillo in Yarowilca Province, Huánuco Region.