Strange Inca Houses Hiding in Plain Sight at Machu Picchu
This could be the most important thing no one ever talks about at Machu Picchu. Why did the Inca build special structures with low ceilings at Machu Picchu? Was it to accommodate "Tiny Beings?" And who are these diminutive residents? And why is no one talking about these beings? Or the structures? They're right in front of our eyes. Anyone can see these houses on their visit to Machu Picchu.
Before you hang up on me. Hear me out. I've been to Machu Picchu countless times beginning in 2007, yet never noticed these particular structures and no one mentioned them! It was my own fault. All those buildings kind of look alike. And to see this particular disparity in one dimension, you have to pay close attention. In March 2026 I was in Machu Picchu with my local friend Vidal, who has been my tour guide at Machu Picchu every year for 20 years. I've mentioned him before in previous posts. He is a native Qechua descendent who speaks 3 languages and has over 30 years experience as a Machu Picchu tour guide. We've been through a lot together including a mudslide during a hike to Machu Picchu, that turned into one of my most memorable life events. So I'm not talking about some dude I found selling postcards on the internet last week. Vidal and I have jointly planned trips for thousands of travelers who have trusted Adios Adventure Travel. It's a big step for me to put this recent experience into words. On paper so to speak. But here goes!
They are called Socca Houses at Machu Picchu. You can find them at the end of circuit 3 right before you get to the agricultural terraces. They're located on the terrace below the path on your left, so you can literally see into the top of each building as if you were riding on a condor. The point is that there are 2 structures side by side and I noticed that only one of them had a shallow depth between the ceiling and the floor.
The space between the floor and the ceiling was not high enough to allow an adult, even a small adult, to stand up inside. When I pointed this unique structure out to Vidal, he didn't immediately spill the beans about the beings. So. I kept on about how could the Inca have stood up in this house? Right next to the tiny house was a regular house and the distance between the floor and the ceiling was about the same as all the other structures in the national park. So why did one house have a lower ceiling than all the other houses around it? (if you're not sitting down yet, now would be a good time to)
The next words that came out of Vidal's mouth shocked me like a cattle prod. "Because this house was built for Tiny Beings," he said. His words. Not mine. I barely noticed, but he paused before he said the word "beings," and I was expecting the word "people" to come out of his mouth. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew what was coming. I peppered him with questions thinking that I had surely missed something. Or that Vidal had been replaced by an imposter! This was not a topic I had ever heard him speak about!
To illustrate the cultural relevance of this remarkable confession about Tiny Beings, Vidal mentioned our visit to the Chinchero weavers village on our way to Machu Picchu. We visited a Qechua women's weaving co-op where they happened to have a few llamas. One of the alpaca had given birth the day before we arrived and the baby was so cute everyone was making a fuss over it. Dangling from the baby's fur were garlic and chile peppers. No one mentioned the herbs, but I saw it and didn't think anything of it. It turns out that the Qechua people attach the garlic and chile peppers to protect the baby from the playful, and mischievous "Saqra."
This is where it gets good. Guess what the name of the tiny beings are at Machu Picchu? Yep. If you guessed Saqra, pat yourself on the back. Now I'm connecting dots galore in my mind. What else is there to know about these mysterious Saqra beings? I went straight to Vidal's younger brother, Hubert. He is one of those guys who's in touch and very knowledgeable about the spiritual aspects of lnca heritage. He's also comfortable talking about it.
According to Hubert, the Saqra at Machu Picchu still occupy the ancient Inca town. The national park tour guides stationed to patrol the park at night, claim that the Saqra come out and play tricks on them. So to keep them happy, the tour guides have been known to bring offerings. But only the older tour guides do this. The younger tour guides are afraid of Saqra.
One of the things I wondered about is if other cultures have similar myths, stories and legends about diminutive beings that may not meet the criteria to be called humans, but have some human-like characteristics. And lookie here!
It gets even better. At home I sometimes listen to podcasts and recently, Joe Rogan interviewed Timothy Alberino, a real-life, handsome-as-hell, Indiana Jones look-alike, about ancient ruins. And they got a little deep into the elongated skulls in Paracas, Peru. One of the things that came out, is that Timothy believes these skulls were attached to tiny skeletons. Like under 4 feet tall. So. I'm wondering if Timothy knows about the strange houses at Machu Picchu? I know he's been there. Could there be a connection between tiny beings with elongoated skulls in Paracas and the strange houses at Machu Picchu? Just thinking out loud. (I promise I'll stop doing that! haha)
Are you intrigued? For anyone interested in seeing the strange houses on their trip to Peru, they're sitting in broad daylight for anyone to see on circuit 2 and 3 at Machu Picchu. Or let me know if you'd like assistance getting there. Vidal would love to show our visitors these special structures. There's a couple of tiny houses on circuit 2 as well. In case you're wondering, like I was, Vidal said he's not aware of any other sites in the Sacred Valley where tiny houses can be seen. But he believes if they had existed, they very well could have been destroyed by those bastard Spaniard invaders. You know the ones I'm talking about. (apologies to our Spanish amigos, don't take it personally) Take a look at our Machu Picchu trips here.
Note about the "accuracy" of spelling Qechua words. The language is oral and words are pronounced phonetically, which often results in variations in spelling. For instance, you'll see Koricancha Temple as Qoricancha or Coricancha.
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