Coricancha is an incredible temple of the sun in Peru. Temples of Cusco The most important temple of the Inca Empire dedicated to

The temple of Coricancha (“golden temple”), in the time of the Incas was called Inticancha, i.e. "Temple of the Sun" The Coricancha Temple was the main temple of the Supreme Inca. Built in 1438, it was destroyed by the conquistadors. Currently, all that remains of the temple is the stone foundation on which the Spaniards erected the Church of Santo Domingo. Initially, the walls of the Korikancha temple were covered with seven hundred gold plates, weighing two kilograms each, and within the temple fence there was a golden garden in which golden llamas grazed and a field of golden corn grew.
They say that everything in it was made of gold and silver: fields of corn, fruit trees, animals, fabulous birds, lizards and snakes. Golden butterflies hung on thin golden threads, and the walls were entwined with golden vines. And all this was done in life-size, causing admiration and delighting the eyes of visitors, generating rumors about the fabulous splendor of Coricancha.

The Koricancha Temple had a golden altar and the Golden Disk of the Sun God Inti. It is believed that the Indians voluntarily gave some of the decorations of the temple to the Spaniards as a ransom for the Supreme Inca Atahualpa. But most of the ritual gold of the Sun God Inti, according to legend, was hidden by the Incas in the caves of the Vilcabamba mountain range, between the Apurimac and Urubamba rivers, where it was taken by caravans of laden lamas. The greatness and glory of the Coricancha Temple in the Inca Empire was so great that people living in the most remote corners of the empire sought to get to Cusco just to visit the Coricancha Temple.
The Coricancha Temple was the most important shrine of the Incas, and was created specifically for the Sun God Inti. Covered with sheets of pure gold, Coricancha shone in the sun and was visible from a great distance. And yet, the most amazing thing about it was not the gold, but the stonework that the builders used to connect the polygonal blocks. It was this that allowed all Inca structures to withstand the most destructive earthquakes. At the same time, the Cathedral of St. Domingo, erected on Incan masonry, was destroyed twice and had to be rebuilt.

And the Inca masonry easily and without damage withstood all the earthquakes. The masonry really seems incredibly complicated. There are 12 corners and sides on the corner blocks in one plane. It is impossible to insert even a safety razor blade into the gaps at the joints of the blocks. Which modern builder can repeat this? It remains a mystery how these huge blocks were delivered from distant quarries.

The Supreme Incas elevated the cult of the Sun God Inti to the rank of state policy, on a par with Viracocha, declaring themselves “sons of the Sun.”

Qorikancha Temple (Qurikancha, Intikancha)

The Coricancha Temple (“Golden Temple”, “Temple of the Sun”) was the most important temple of the Inca Empire, built in pre-Inca times and used by the Incas. Dedicated to the highest deity of the Incas - the sun god Inti.

In Incan times, the walls and floor of the temple were decorated with gold plates, and there were golden statues in the courtyard. Initially, the walls of the Korikancha temple were covered with seven hundred gold plates, weighing two kilograms each, and within the temple fence there was a golden garden in which golden llamas grazed and a field of golden corn grew. They say that everything in it was made of gold and silver: fields of corn, fruit trees, animals, fabulous birds, lizards and snakes. Golden butterflies hung on thin golden threads, and the walls were entwined with golden vines. And all this was done in life-size, causing admiration and delighting the eyes of visitors, generating rumors about the fabulous splendor of Coricancha.

In the Koricancha temple there was a golden altar and Golden disk of the Sun God Inti. It is believed that the Indians voluntarily gave some of the decorations of the temple to the Spaniards as a ransom for the Supreme Inca Atahualpa. But most of the ritual gold of the Sun God Inti, according to legend, was hidden by the Incas in the caves of the Vilcabamba mountain range, between the Apurimac and Urubamba rivers, where it was taken by caravans of laden lamas. The greatness and glory of the Coricancha Temple in the Inca Empire was so great that people living in the most remote corners of the empire sought to get to Cusco just to visit the Coricancha Temple. The Spanish conquistadors, who were extremely fond of gold, wrote about the fantastically rich decoration of the Coricancha Temple, calling it “wealth beyond belief.”

The Coricancha Temple was the most important shrine of the Incas and was created specifically for the Sun God Inti. Covered with sheets of pure gold, Coricancha shone in the sun and was visible from a great distance. And yet the most amazing thing about him was not the gold, and masonry, which builders used to bind polygonal blocks. It was this that allowed all Inca structures to withstand the most destructive earthquakes. At the same time, the Cathedral of St. Domingo, erected on Incan masonry, was destroyed twice and had to be rebuilt.

Destroyed after the conquistador invasion. Currently, in the center of the city of Cusco in Peru, the ruins of the temple remain. After a strong earthquake in 1650, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo (St. Dominic) was built over them. Four former premises of the temple were used as a monastery. A strong earthquake in 1950 damaged the cathedral and exposed some ruins of an Inca temple.

Nearby is an underground archaeological museum, which houses many exhibits, including mummies, textile samples, and idols.

has gone into the distant past, its splendor can only be judged by archaeological evidence, which, however, raises more questions than answers. The capital of the Inca Empire, the city of Cusco is located in a deep mountain bowl at an altitude of 3400 meters above sea level. This city was founded around 1500 BC, and about 600 years ago it became the capital with thousands of houses. In the Inca language, which is still used in Peru, the word "Cuzco" means "center of the world." And therefore the central part of the city square Plaza is called "chaupi" ("center of the center of the Inca Empire"). There are many legends about the founding of the city of Cusco, one of which tells the following.

At the beginning of the 12th century, the leader of the new inhabitants who appeared in these parts was Manco Capac - “the son of the gods who descended from the Sun,” who later became the first Inkoy(the supreme ruler), fired four stones from a sling in four different directions in order to build a city on such territory that his soldiers could defend. So Cusco began to grow and strengthen, and over time it turned into a capital filled with temples dedicated to pagan deities. The most grandiose building of the city was the Temple of the Sun, access to which was allowed only to the ruler - Sapa Inca (The Only Inca). This temple housed a huge Golden Disc, inlaid with large emeralds and personifying the solar deity Inti.

The Temple of the Sun, whose halls were decorated with sheets of gold and numerous precious stones, was rivaled only by the Temple of the Moon, dedicated to the wife of Sapa Inca. Both of these temples, like most of the buildings in Cuzco, were erected from stone blocks carefully fitted to each other; between which a razor blade did not pass (Which is very reminiscent of the technology for making the terrace of the temple of the city of Baalbek).

Inca Empire: Sacsayhuaman

In the vicinity of the capital of the Inca Empire, there is the archaeological complex of Sacsayhuaman... This is a stone fortification consisting of 21 bastions, above which rise powerful towers, which were very effectively used by the Incas in the fight against the Spanish conquistadors. Sacsayhuaman, which means “gray-colored bird of prey” in the Inca language, has long been considered a fortress. And if you look at it from above, its outline really resembles a bird. Under the ground of this complex there are many passages and rooms that could be used for sacrifices, as well as for consultations with the oracles who lived here. In addition, “there are rumors” that the Incas once hid part of their fabulous wealth from the Spaniards in these underground structures.

Whatever Sacsayhuaman actually was - a military fortress or a religious center of worship - it is a remarkable monument of pre-Columbian architecture that poses a mystery to scientists. The largest stones that form Sacsayhuaman are located at the bottom of its walls, which are almost seven meters high, and the weight of these stones reaches 120 tons! Moreover, the weight of the largest blocks that make up the fortress walls reaches 360 tons! At the moment, there is no explanation for how the ancient builders managed to lift such huge blocks of stone to build these powerful fortifications. Another mystery is the way these blocks are connected to each other. How did they manage to “weld” these blocks together, since neither cement nor any other adhesive substances were used during the masonry? In connection with these questions, the Spanish historian Garciaso de la Vega noted the following: “... These three walls were erected as if by magic, created by demons, not people - there are so many stones in them and they are so huge... It is impossible to believe that these the stones were cut in quarries, since the Indians had neither iron nor steel tools to remove and cut them." Opposite the stone walls in Sacsayhuaman is the Throne of the Inca, which is a platform carved into the side of a rocky hill with a series of steps leading to it. It is difficult to say what purpose the Inca Throne had, but it has perfectly crafted precise corners and edges, which could not be achieved by traditional processing methods. Unfortunately, the Spanish colonialists used Sacsayhuaman as a “quarry” - they constantly took stones from there for their construction needs, so much of the capital of the Inca Empire was irretrievably lost, and the mystery of the builders of the city of Cusco remained unsolved.

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• Address: Santo Domingo s/n, Cusco, Peru
• Telephone: +51 84 249176
• Working hours: 08:30-17:30, Sunday - closed
• Ticket prices: 10 PEN/€2.6

The Coricancha Temple is located in one of the most mysterious and impressive -. More precisely, all that remains of the once majestic temple are the stone walls, but they make no less a grandiose impression.

According to some sources, the Coricancha Sun Temple was built by the Incas back in 1200. This majestic temple complex was distinguished by its non-standard design, perfectly smooth stonework and luxurious golden decoration. It was erected in honor of the six main Inca gods:

• sun god Inti;
• star god;
• creator god Viracocha;
• god of the rainbow;
• god of thunder;
• god Venus.

According to legends, each of the halls was decorated with gold and silver items, inlaid with figures of gods, and jugs with precious stones. The Coricancha Temple was very important for the inhabitants, as it united the various cultural traditions of all the tribes living in this territory. But the Spanish conquerors, who invaded the country, destroyed the once majestic temple complex through deception. In 1950, as a result of a strong earthquake, the ruins of the temple of the sun god - Inti were discovered. This is the only thing that has survived from this ancient complex.

Like the city of Cusco itself, the Coricancha Temple is located in the Peruvian Andes. When you get here, you feel how thin the air is, but this makes the impressions of the historical monument even more vivid. Despite the fact that the Qorikancha temple complex was built back in the 1200s, even then people knew how to build perfectly level structures. Its base is made up of rectangular stone blocks that were once carved from andesite (a rock that was mined in the Andes) and granite. The stones fit each other so precisely that it seems as if they were folded using a special huge ruler. The same stonework can be seen inside the temple complex. In some rooms the ceiling decoration has been preserved. By its condition one can judge how luxuriously this building was decorated. Local residents still believe that part of the Incan gold reserve is still stored under the ruins of the temple.

In 1860, the Cathedral of St. Dominican, designed in the Spanish Baroque style, was added to the Coricancha temple. But even the skill of famous Spanish architects cannot compare with the engineering and artistic skills of the ancient Incas.

Once upon a time, next to the Koricancha temple, a garden was laid out, in which there were many gold and silver figures of animals and birds. There was even an entire cornfield made of precious metals. Now on the territory of the temple you can only find huge boulders and vegetation. After walking through the grounds of the Koricancha Sun Temple, you can go on a tour of the archaeological museum, which displays exhibits that once belonged to the temple. Here you can see ancient mummies, ancient religious idols and many other artifacts.

In order to get to the Coricancha Temple, you need to drive from the center of Cusco to the Estacion de Colectivos Cusco-Urubamba stop or walk along San Martin and Av Tullumayo streets. If you wish, you can also

The Qorikancha Temple literally translates as “golden temple” and in Inca times had a different name – Intikancha (literally “temple of the sun”). It was the main temple of the Inca Empire.

Located in the city of Cusco. At the moment, only ruins remain of the temple due to the invasion of the conquistadors. After the earthquake, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo was erected on the base of the temple.

In the original structure, according to legend, all the walls and interior decoration of the temple were gold and silver, but after the attack of the conquistadors, most of the gold was taken by the Indians themselves and taken to the city of Vilcobamba. Inside was a golden altar and the Golden Disk of the Sun God Inti. But the most curious thing is not the magnificent decoration of the temple, but the method of its construction. The polygonal blocks from which the temple was built are extremely durable. The Cathedral of Santo Domingo has been destroyed twice since its construction, while the foundation of the Coricancha Temple has remained intact.

At the moment, the ruins of the temple can be seen in all its glory, since after the earthquake the city residents did not allow several walls to be demolished, and they still delight the traveler’s eye.

Rakchi Temple

The Rakchi Temple is an Inca-era archaeological site that was once a religious center, which is located 3.5 kilometers above sea level near Cusco.

The temple, which is 92 meters long and 25 meters wide, is dedicated to the creator god Viracocha. This is the only Inca site that used columns to support the roof of the temple, of which there were 22 in total.

In addition to the temple itself, here you can see the premises where the clergy lived and warehouses intended for storing provisions.

Kenko Temple

Quenco is an archaeological site in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The temple was built in the form of an amphitheater carved into the rock. During the time of the Incas, sacred ceremonies took place in this place.

The temple is located northeast of Cusco, on the Socoro hill and covers an area of ​​over 3500 square meters. It is a complex of four temples located on the slope of a low mountain. Scientists still cannot say about the true purpose, but there are many assumptions. Most likely, this structure was built in 1500, at the very height of the Inca Empire. In the very center of the complex there is a stone slab about 6 meters high on a rectangular pedestal. On the walls of the temple you can see images of sacred Indian animals: pumas, condors and snakes. There is an opinion that they have the meaning of three levels of the universe.

If you go inside the temple, you will find yourself in narrow corridors and passages, where there was not even a ray of light. There is also a table on which sacrifices took place, and ancient symbols are depicted on the walls. There is an opinion that the temple was one of the most important sanctuaries of the Incas.