To the left is the Pucará Pambamarca, off to the right is another Pucará in the shape of a tortoise, the Pucará Tortuga.

Situated among 17 precolumbian Pucarás (hilltop fortresses), Pambamarca was an important site for astronomical observations and ceremonies to celebrate the planting of crops, the harvest, and the passage of the seasons. Only one of the 17 Pucarás is Inca (Quito Loma), the rest are pre-Incan, constructed by the Quitus, Caras, Caranquis, and Cayambes. Most of the lower Pucarás were built for defensive purposes, but Pambamarca, as the highest of the Pucarás, was a sacred site for the shamans. At 4,062 meters (13,326 feet) above sea level, it is the highest precolumbian ruin in the Americas, much higher than Machu Pichu (2,430 meters, 7,970 feet above sea level).