Intihuatana

Location:
Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, Peru

Hiking, Ruin

V!VA User‘s Description

A brief walk uphill from the Principal Temple will bring you to one of the most important shrines at Machu Picchu. Intihuatana, or Hitching Post of the Sun, is an intriguing carved rock whose shape mimics that of Huayna Picchu, the sacred peak rising beyond the ruins. Though the Incas created rocks like this for all their important ritual centers, Intihuatana is one of the few not destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores. Overlooking the Sacred Plaza, this sundial-like rock served as an astronomical device used to track constellation movements and to calculate the passing of seasons. Given its shape and strategic alignment with four important mountains, many scholars have conjectured that Intihuatana is symbolically linked to the spirit of the mountains on which Machu Picchu was built. If you follow the steps down from here, past the Sacred Plaza and towards the northern terraces you'll arrive at the Sacred Rock, gateway to Huayna Picchu.