The Road to Macchu Picchu
A ceremonial and agricultural wonder, Machu Picchu is a famous ancient Incan citadel from the 15th century, situated high up in the Andes mountains. Surrounded by a lush cloud forest, the UNESCO World Heritage site is visited by thousands of people each year. In Quechua, the language that the Incans spoke, Machu Picchu actually means “Old Mountain” or “Old Peak.”
The ancient ruins are made of over 150 buildings built with precisely cut stones and without mortar. These buildings range from houses and baths to sanctuaries and temples. While many known Machu Picchu to be an ingenious feat of architecture, what’s less known about Machu Picchu was that it was also an astronomical observatory. The Incan citadel was used to observe solstices and identify seasonal changes that informed when to plant and harvest.
The Temple of the Sun is a semicircular temple around a large boulder that overlooks the Sacred Valley. During the summer solstice (which I sadly missed by a day), the sun shines through the temple window and aligns with the boulder and the top of the mountain behind it. In Incan culture, the Sun God Into is one of the most important deities, and so a major part of Incan architecture are these pillars used to observe the Sun at its solstices. These solstices are major celebrations in Peru, like the annual festival of Inti Raymi that I was actually in Cusco for.
Atop the tiered, pyramid-like structure leading to the highest elevation within the Incan citadel — known as the Sacred Plaza — sits the Intihuatana stone. The Intihuatana is actually a sundial, with its four sides representing the 4 cardinal points: north, south, east, and west. During the two equinoxes (March 21st and September 21st), the sun stands directly above the Intihuatana, with no shadow created whatsoever. Like many of the structures at Machu Picchu, the Intihuatana joins the different levels of Incan mythology at a single point: the spiritual world, now, and the underworld..
The dynamic between the universe and life it contains was so important to the Incans that they designed their cross, called the Chakana, to symbolize the spiritual/physical elements of the world. The four stepped corners of the Incan cross represent the four cardinal directions, the four seasons, the four provinces of the Incan Empire. They also represent the four main stars of the Southern Cross, which the Incans believed was the center of the universe. The upper and lower halves of the Chakana symbolize the duality of the world (yananti), while the hole in its center represents the circle of life and Cusco, which was considered the “navel of the Incan empire.”
The Chakana was widely used in Incan culture, like the decoration of buildings, embroidery, and jewellery. You can actually find a half-chakana at Machu Picchu, whose shadow during the solstices form a whole chakana.
The first quarter of the cross represents energetic tiers or worlds:
The lower world (Uqhu Pacha) represented the underworld and death
The middle world (Kay Pacha) represented the world of human life
The upper world (Hanan Pacha) included the stars, celestial beings and gods
The Temple of the Moon, also known as the Great Cavern, has been called the “hidden jewel” of Macchu Picchu. Located on the far side of Huayna Picchu (the main mountain people climb), the Temple of the Moon is built into a cave and lies at the end of an extremely narrow trail. The Incans believed that caves connected them with the world of the dead.
In addition to numerology, the Incans revered animals and believed that represented Another thing you’ll find at Machu Picchu are llamas and alpacas sprawled out everywhere. The llama is a revered animal in Incan culture and it’s said that there is a section of Machu Picchu (called the Llama in the Wall) where if you look hard enough, you can spot the unmistakable outline of a llama in the rocks. There is also the Temple of the Condor, where a condor is made out of rock carvings on both the floor and walls.
These are just two of the many symbols at Machu Picchu. If you are intrigued by archaeology at all, you will marvel at all the symbols you can find here, many of which reveal much about the Incan culture and their beliefs. Like the famous Sacred Rock that was actually carved to mirror the mountains, the homes at Machu Picchu were built to resemble mountains as well with their triangular shaped tops.
You will also spot the Inca cross, which represents the Incan perspective on life and the world. Incans believed in three levels of existence: Hana Pacha (the upper world where the gods and stars lived), Kay Pacha (the plane of human existence), and Ukhu/Urin Pacha (the underworld). You can imagine the horizontal line of the cross as the Kay Pacha and the vertical line stretching between the other two levels of existence. The four cardinal points are supposed to represent both the four directions (North, South, East, West) and the four elements (Earth, Water, Air, and Fire). The stair-steps in between the four cardinal points represented different stages of development. Upper left quadrant represents love, trust, connections while upper right represents responsibility, productivity, present; the lower left quadrant represents acknowledgement, protection, awareness, while the lower right represents happiness, passion, expression. It is also said that the center of the cross represents Cusco, which was the center of the Incan empire. The Inca cross is often constructed such that only the top half protrudes from the ground; this is so that the sun’s shadow, representing the non-material world, completes the cross when it sets. The cross is also a popular symbol for jewelry - I was able to pick up an Inca cross ring in one of the shops at Aguas Calientes while waiting for the bus up to Machu Piccu.
Machu Picchu was a long, exhausting day trip but completely worth it. The history, hard work, and ingenuity behind this ancient city truly astounded me. I hope you get a chance to visit it sometime, and if you do, make sure to read my pro tips for visiting to best plan your trip!