Sacred Sites
Cusco
The capital of the former Inca Empire is located in the middle of the Andean highlands and today it boasts unique buildings and a breathtaking location. Cuzco, or Cuzco in a different spelling, literally takes the breath away from many guests at first due to its location at 3,416 meters above sea level.
Cuzco is much more than just a starting point for the mysterious Inca city of Machu Picchu in the Andes. The city itself offers wonderful views and is an absolutely recommendable sight in the Peruvian highlands, especially because of the beautiful panoramic views, the charming colonial buildings and the evidence of the Inca Empire.
... The atmosphere in Cuzco, together with the exceptional location and the buildings worth seeing, is something very special and gives the feeling of being transported to another time. An extensive city tour through Cuzco is therefore always an unforgettable experience. The old town with the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas should not be missed, nor should the artists' quarter of San Blas, the Temple of the Sun and the lively market of Cuzco. The numerous other churches also offer some very impressive artistic fine work that comes together to form a beautiful whole. It is not for nothing that Cuzco is considered one of the most beautiful cities in all of Peru. ... (from: website of "SKR-Reisen")
Machu Picchu
MACHU PICCHU is a citadel built on the mountains just above the Willka Mayu or Willka Nota river, where the altar of Apu Salkantay, the most important APU's of the Inca people, resides.
Built from white granite in the shape of a condor, known as the "crystal condor". Myth and legend say that the crystal condor carries the soul of the people of this earth back to the eternal light. Machu Picchu is the temple of liberation, self-realization and enlightenment and is the most revered. The most important constellation for the Inca people is the Southern Cross constellation - also known as the heart of the Milky Way.
Qorikancha
Qorikancha, "Temple of the Sun" in Cusco is the center of centers of the Inca civilization. Completely decorated with gold, silver and precious stones, with life-sized sacred spiritual symbols, it represents the cosmovision. This land is known as the vortex, where many ley lines converge. It was believed that in this temple was the disk that represented the sun - made of crystals and precious stones (some believe from materials not of this earth!). Top chiefs, governors, military and religious leaders, as well as high priests and priestesses came to this sacred temple to ask the oracle questions and make important decisions for the Inca civilization. The people of the community were only allowed to pray outside the temple walls to their ancestors, the sun disk and the divine... for enlightenment, self-realization and illumination.
Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman, the "Temple of the Enlightened" is also known as the "Contentful Falcon" or the "Great Head of the Puma". This temple was intended for the head of government, high-ranking military, government and religious leaders. The Enlightened Head of the Puma is a lightning-shaped terrace made of pieces of stone and stones from a quarry 25 km southeast of Cusco and weighing about 120 tons. In this temple you can connect with the power of leadership, the enlightened mind and the enlightened consciousness. Here the Andean people pay homage to Father Sun and Mother Earth and maintain the ceremonies, rituals and thanksgivings of the ancestors.
Quillarumiyoc
QUILLARUMIYOQ is a sacred place of ceremony and sharing in community with nature and the Apus (powerful mountain spirits) and serves as a portal to connect with Mother Earth and the feminine divine, fertility and rebirth. Only recently did archaeologists discover these sacred caves, altars and ceremony platforms in 2005 and they remain relatively little known.
Naupa Iglecia
Naupa Iglesia (Spanish: Iglesia 'church'), also Ñaupa Iglesia,
Naupa Huaca, Ñaupa Waka (Ñaupa for “ancient, from earlier times”)
Wak'a for "holy place or holy object", i.e. "holy place from earlier times";
Cave of Choquequilla (Quechua for "golden moon"), the golden moon or moon temple is an archaeological site near Pachar Peru a few kilometers from Ollantaytambo.
The ceremonial center of Ñaupa Iglesia or Choqella, which means “the old temple where gold shines”, an ancient ceremonial-religious site and enigmatic temple of the Incas, is unique due to its construction, details and location.
Ñaupa Iglesia was used in the Inca period to perform rituals on the earth, the cosmos and parallel worlds. After going up the path and being in the middle platforms of Ñaupa Iglesia you enter a trapezoidal mountain cave where the main cave is located The Temple and a series of rocky windows stand out. The main temple is a natural formation of volcanic rock. which covers a trapezoidal area of 36 m2. There is a basalt rock carved with ornamental motifs, a stepped double-post shield and an Inca cross, an Inca symbol , which represents the Andean worldview.
Chinchero
Chinchero, the “Land of the Rainbow,” was derived from the word Sincheraq – the people with highly evolved souls who discovered their gifts at a young age and offered them to the family and community through the Tawantinsuyu (the four regions of the sun).
In ancient times, this was a university where young people were trained in the arts of weaving, architecture, engineering, astronomy and military.
Today, Chinchero is an amazing sunset altar. It is believed that these west-facing altars are meant to honor the ancestors, leaders and high priests and priestesses who set with the sun and still watch over us with their light, to be of service... to our evolution and self-actualization. Chinchero is also known as the Land of the Rainbow and is the Temple of the Seven Rays, the most important lineages and traditions in the world.
Temple of the Moon - Cusco
