The mysterious Moon Temple Machu Picchu

Located on the steep slopes falling on the north side of Huayna Picchu, Temple of the Moon was already known by Hiram Bingham called the 'Great Cave'. Federico Kauffmann said that must have been a place of worship of great importance for the care with which they were worked walls lining the grotto.

Although at that very moment thousands of people swarmed through Machu Picchu, in the Temple of the Moon was not a soul. And that's the best way to enjoy the Inca monuments in silence. We only came the sound of restless Urubamba river flowing towards more whimsical tropical latitudes.

There are two ways to peer into the Temple of the Moon, the first, most spectacular and courageous, requires climbing to the top of Huayna Picchu and then begin a long descent. The second involves taking a path that branches off to the left at the very base of Huayna Picchu, where you can see live rock made ladders and walls that separate you from the abyss, before the road crash in the jungle. The Temple of the Moon is 2,050 meters high, it is 400 meters less than Machu Picchu.

Source: La Republica.

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Four tombs discovered of 600 years in the Huaca Pucllana

A team of archaeologists from the Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores discovered four tombs possibly the Ychsma culture. Were three women and a grown man, they were buried in the main pyramid of the archaeological site in Lima.

The bodies were located to the southeast, in a seated position, wrapped in fabrics, baskets and ropes, all buried in the Great Pyramid. The finding confirms that this structure was used as a burial place for people considered elite. The characters found in the tombs ichmas are squatting beside reed brackets that hold them in that position. The funeral paraphernalia included pottery and textile tools such as punches and cactus spines.

This finding confirms the presence of the Ychsma culture in the ceremonial center located in the heart of Miraflores. Which it was installed on the central coast of the country between 1000 and 1450 AD.

Source: El Comercio.

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Basque expedition found an Inca sanctuary

Most of the adventure has run for the Inca trail in Vraem region. For two weeks amounted rugged mountains up to 5,000 meters and have ventured into the jungle with a rainy weather that has not stopped to rest.

Fortunately Miguel Gutierrez guided by his intuition on a hill 12 hectares at 3,700 meters by the expedition found an Inca cemetery full of graves hidden in caves.

Following this finding, the expedition also found on the western slope of the Vilcabamba’s mountains an Inca ceremonial center to 5,000 meters, where they photographed what they believe are the remains of inns, tombs, carved relics, platforms, Inca roads, stairs and stands.

The whole mountain seems "huge reservoir" whose archaeological and scientific scope is still unknown but believe there may be children buried after being killed in rituals to the god of water during periods of drought.

Basque expedition follows in the footsteps of explorers like Galician Santiago del Valle and Carmen Martin Rubio, also trapped by the mixture of history, magic, myth and legend surrounding the Inca and his lost city of Vilcabamba.

Source: Efefuturo.

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The New Museum of Pachacamac

Pachacamac was the main sanctuary of the central coast for over a thousand years, on the south of Lima. Their temples were visited by crowds of pilgrims on the occasion of the great Andean rituals and going people of the Andes in search of solutions to their problems or answers to their questions.

Pachacamac is regarded as an oracle and its worship was the center of all coastal religion. The word Pachacamac means "soul of the earth, which animates the world." The ancient Peruvians believed that one movement of his head would cause earthquakes. He could not look into his eyes, and even his priests entered the enclosure back.

The new Pachacamac site museum under construction, part of the National System of Museums of the National Institute of Culture. It aims to integrate the archaeological site with the community. It provides information to understand the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac and place in the history of Peruvian archeology. Among the main buildings we can find: the Sun Temple, pyramids with ramps, Taurichumpi Palace, Temple Pintado, Uhle Cemetery, North and South Streets, Square of the Pilgrims and the Acllahuasi.

You can visit the museum in the old Panamericana Sur Km. 31.5 Lurin district in Lima. A building that will offer visitors modern spaces for the exhibition of major collections that currently houses and efficient research work and preservation of cultural material environments.

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The Amazing Sillustani

In Sillustani 35 kms. from Puno, a mysterious and impressive burial grounds of the Lords of the Colla called chullpas is situated, with square and cone shapes made of stones that fit symmetrically exact. This sanctuary is surrounded by the beautiful Umayo Lagoon only 20 kms. from Lake Titicaca.

The Chullpas can reach up to 12 meters high, with vaulted crypts where mummies were kept inside, almost 90 of them. According to researches the bodies were mummified in a fetal position and placed inside the chullpas. Close to the bodies were placed their belongings, jewelry, pottery and food; due to their beliefs were said that after death the bodies will resurrect elsewhere, where then they will eat and drink.

Higher chullpas settled on platforms and had graves that were buried around that were surely their servers. These numerous monuments were accompanied by other facilities in circles as well as decks and fences designated for rituals.

Even this tourist attraction and funerary sanctuary was the inspiration for the Central Bank of Peru to issue a new edition of the national currency (Nuevo Sol), in commemoration of the Sillustani Chullpas as part of its Numismatics Wealth and Pride.

To arrive to Sillustani we should take the paved road between Puno and Juliaca, 3950 meters above sea level; where you will find one of the largest cemeteries in the world and must see point to visit in Puno.

More information about Puno and Lake Titicaca here.