Placed to be visited in Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu Sanctuary is a beautiful place where you can enjoy Inca history, culture and history; knowing every mystery behind this citadel where you can find different well-organized sectors. Some of them, limited by schedules, however, are always compensated by the rest of the spaces that we can visit. The site that we will visit during the tour are the following site:
As soon you enter to Machu Picchu, your guide will take you in a 15-minute walk up to the viewpoint of Machu Picchu from where you’ll take the panoramic pictures of Machu Picchu.
The House of the Guardian:
This beautiful place is located in the highest part of the Inca citadel above the agricultural section. Its function was to control the entrance to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and to review the entire agricultural and urban area. From here, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the entire citadel and the entrance to Machu Picchu through the ancient Inca trail. The build has three walls; on the central wall we find three large windows, which allow us to easily observe the entrance to the Inca Trail and the Inca Bridge, the only means of communication with the outside world. You can also see how the Incas covered the enclosures with an ichu roof.
Llacta Punku:
The main entrance to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. It is the entrance for the urban sector, it is located limited by a deep excavation. This sector is located from the cemetery by a long staircase towards the peripheral districts, it has a system of spikes to hold a wooden door, in person and not as an element of restriction or security since the city is also accessible by other roads.
Ceremonial Square:
It is a set of enclosures made around a quadrangular patio, we can see three polygonal walls, made up of huge perfectly assembled lithic pieces. The presence of three windows and two niches on each side stands out. It is considered that the function of these stained-glass windows was probably purely religious, next to which there is another enclosure called The House of the Priest.
Temple of the Sun:
This enclosure has a finely polished two-store structure. The first is semi-subterranean and the second is distinguished by a beautiful semicircular wall with perfect finishes, with an inclination towards its interior for this called “Torreón”. It was used to celebrate religious ceremonies, especially during the months of June and December, special dates of the Solstices.
This Tower has two trapezoidal-shaped windows, one oriented towards the most extreme point of the winter solstice that takes place on June 21th and the other oriented towards the Sun gate or “Puerta del Sol” (Intipunku) for the summer solstice that occurs on December 22th. In the middle of this architecture, we can find a central rock, polished in the form of an altar that was used for the ceremonies of interpretation of the path that the sun followed. It is built on a large rock, under which there is a small cave, which has been worked and covered with a thin wall, this probably because it served as a mausoleum, because it has niches of a moderate size, where They placed the “mallquis” or mummies where they were worshipped.
Temple of the three Windows:
This temple has three polygonal walls, built with huge lithic pieces perfectly assembled, three windows and 2 niches at each end stand out. The function they had was religious magic and not just aesthetic.
It was Hiram Bingham who carried out excavations in the front part of this temple, finding a large amount of fractured pottery and highlighting the detail of the bases of this temple from a depth of more than three meters, the possible symbolic figure of the head of a carved llama, this image is allegorical to the camelid because of its importance as a beast of burden, supplier of meat and clothing to the Incas.
The Main Temple:
It has a finely polished structure with fine finishes, an enclosure framed by only three walls, each of the large rooms has been carefully crafted. The central wall has a dimension of 11 meters. Behind the main temple there is an enclosure whose function was probably also for religious use according to the archives obtained and whose stones have no less than 32 angles, which makes its meaning quite mysterious.
Intihuatana (7:00AM – 10.00AM):
It bears its name in Quechua which means “Where the sun is attached”, it is an area which corresponds to one of the highest sectors of the Urban Zone. This is the most important area of Machu Picchu, at the top of this area we can find a huge elaborate and carved sculpture with flat surfaces, a column of 66 cm. tall and with intricately carved faces that complement the sculpture. The total space of the Intihuatana is 8.60 meters and 1.76 meters high.
The Intihuatana, is one of the most enigmatic objects of Machu Picchu, it is linked to the sunrise and the mountains. The movement of the Sun causes projections of shadows at different times, this served to recognize and interpret them at different times of the year.
The Sacred rock:
It is a carved stone that resembles the silhouette of a mountain. It is located next to the checkpoint to access the Huayna Picchu mountain, consisting of two huayrana type rooms (room with three walls), with very high ceilings that face each other, forming a small square almost square. This rock has an important location, since it is located on the path that leads to two very important sites such as Huayna Picchu and the Temple of the Moon.
Water Mirrors:
Their name is related to the enclosure where they are located as well as the constructions that are located there. It is a large sector, with only one access door, which is why it is attributed to being an “Acllahuasi” or House for selected women who were dedicated to spinning, cooking and preparing chicha or “Acja, for the privileged class.
Among the possible functions assigned to this space are:
- In one of its rooms, you can see two circular rocky protuberances, which have the shape of mortars, probably they were used to grind grains or to prepare dyes.
- It is also called 2 water mirrors, because in the rainy season they accumulate water and allow you to see the reflected stars.
Temple of the Condor (10AM – 1PM):
This is a vast set of constructions, made taking advantage of the irregular shapes and on top of a cave that was notoriously used for ceremonies. The condor was an animal revered in Inca times and associated with the deity of the mountains.
The area is delimited by stairs and finely carved walls, its access is controlled by a double jamb door, which shows the hierarchy and the activities that took place in this area, it presents a wide variety of closed and open environments at one and two levels.
In the central courtyard, its main point is a sculpted rock, where the representation of the head and part of the body of a condor can be clearly distinguished. The head, beak and eyes can be seen, as well as the white feather collar of the Royal Condor, with the body thrown into the cave, which is subtly joined with two natural rocks.
In this sector you can see the clear union of natural rocks with others worked by man, seeking to represent a tutelary deity. In the underground cave (the body of the Condor) offerings, ceramics and bone remains of camelids were found, confirming the quality of a “ceremonial center” where offerings were made.
In front of the condor temple, we will find a 2-storey structure that has two entrance doors, the second level is flush with the patio of the condor and by observation it must have served as an enclosure for the priest, in charge of the cult of the Condor. You go down to the first level by a staircase which communicates with other rooms. In an environment adjoining it, animal breeding areas were found, other stairs lead to a lower platform.
Water Fountains:
A grand staircase can be seen beside which flows a system of 16 waterfalls, most of which are carefully carved out of polygonal blocks and surrounded by gutters carved into the rock. The water comes from a source on the heights of the Machu Picchu Mountain which was channeled during the time of the Incas. A separate channel at the top of the mountain also combines rain infiltration from the mountain and diverts it to the main channel.
