Temple of the Sun
Semicircular granite shrine to the sun god, built over a sacred boulder with windows aligned to the solstice sunrise.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide stands at the Temple of the Sun, the curved granite shrine at Machu Picchu near Aguas Calientes, where Melchor Arteaga led Hiram Bingham up a jungle cliff on the morning of July 24, 1911, in search of a different lost city entirely. It explains why Inca masons broke from their usual straight lines to wrap fitted stone around an already-sacred boulder, on the order of the emperor Pachacuti, and points out the trapezoid window aligned so a blade of light crosses the chamber once a year at dawn. Look for the second, smaller opening beside it before you move on.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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