Travel with us!
Beyond Voyage
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Destinations
  • Gallery
  • Pack
  • Tunes
  • About

Day 8: The Sun Route

5/16/2013

2 Comments

 
After Lake Titicaca, our next destination was Cusco, Peru.  Instead of flying, we decided to take a tourist bus, called Wonder Peru, along the Inca Sun Route. It's called the Sun Route because, from the perspective fo the Incas who lived in this region, the sun would rise by Lake Titicaca and set in Cusco.  It's a 10 hour bus ride which goes by quickly due to numerous stops to see Inca ruins along the way.  

First Stop: Pukara
Pukara, which means fortress of spirit ,was a pre-Incan community from 300 BC.  They were among the first civilizations to build the 3 level stepped pyramids that are common in Inca culture.  According to our guides, this is what the steps mean:
Levels
1
2
3
World
Heaven
Earth
Underworld
Totem
Condor
Puma
Snake
Affirmations
I Love
I Work
I Live
Rules
Don't be lazy
Don't steal
Don't lie
We saw these levels depicted throughout pre-Incan and Incan ruins and it's the basis for the Inca cross which combines two of these 3 step pyramids to represent balance (similar to ying & yang) and the circle of life. 
Picture
Inca Cross
Another important animal to the people of Pukara was the otorongo or jaguar. The otorongo would regularly eat their most valuable animal -  llamas. So they made the otorongo a god and prayed to it regularly in hopes it would leave their animals alone. 

Sacrifice & Cannibalism in Pukara:
They had many different gods - most with very long names I can't remember. One god that was very important was Pachamama or Mother Earth, often represented by the moon.  The people of Pukara regularly made animal or human sacrifices to Pachamama. They usually sacrificed their best alpaca, llama or the most beautiful maiden in the village. This was their way of thanking the Mother Earth. They also thought that by sacrificing only the best animals and most beautiful maidens they would please Pachamama and she would bring them good weather and harvest in return. 

The people of Pukara were cannibals. They would eat their enemies because they thought it would make them stronger and give them more power. We saw many ancient statues depicting the executioner holding a knife in one hand behind his back and the enemy's head in the other hand, in front of his body. 

Astronomy:
The people of Pukara also used a bowl of water as a mirror to map out the stars in stone. We saw a typical bowl they used for astronomy as well as some of the early carvings of the stars. They used these carvings as maps to help them find their way to different parts of the sacred valley. The Incas adopted this method, and we learned later at Machu Picchu how important astronomy was to this culture. 

Pottery:
These people were excellent potters. In fact, we saw many original pieces still in tact and they were quite beautiful. These people would make  clay llamas - one male and one female - and place them on top of their roofs for good luck. When the Spanish conquered this land, they introduced bulls to the natives and soon the clay llamas became clay bulls. Now you can see 2 clay bulls on top of most homes in the Cusco region. 
Picture
These clay bulls are on most homes in the Cusco region. They are supposed to bring your family good luck.
Picture
fancier bulls lined the gate to the church
After visiting Pukara, we stopped at Raya Pass which is about 4,300 meters (14,000 feet) above sea level. The highest point during our time in Peru. Here are a few pictures from Las Rayas:
Picture
Raya Pass
Picture
Meet Mariela (baby llama) and Choco (mama llama)
Picture
Raya Pass
We then stopped in a small town for a buffet dinner. After dinner we sat outside in the sun near a couple of alpacas.  Chris walked near the dark alpaca and the alpaca got very defensive, stood up immediately and glared at Chris, threatening to charge. I quickly snapped a picture and then Chris ran over to the other side of the lawn!
Picture
Llama is NOT happy with Chris. He is ready to charge.
Picture
yawning before Chris startled him
After lunch we stopped in Raqchi to see the ruins of the temple of Wiracocha. It was built by the Inca king Wiracocha to honor the Superior God of the Invisible. 
Picture
Temple of Wiracocha. The round cylinders used to be columns and the thatched roof extended over the columns. The temple was divided in two - one side for women the other for men.
Picture
These huts were used for storage.
Last, but definitely not least, was a church built by Jesuits in the town of Andahuayalillas. The church is called San Pedro Apostol de Andahuayalillas and it's been called the Sistine Chapel of the Americas due to it's  excessively decorated interior. The inside of the church is impressive. Every inch of the church is covered in frescoes, gilded symbols and medallions, mirrors,  giant gold frames of renaissance style oil paintings, gold statues of Saint Paul, Saint Peter, and Virgin Mary.   It is certainly a feast for the eyes. 

Aside from the art, this church is interesting because you can see how the Jesuits incorporated the traditional Inca religious symbols into the Catholic church to make it easier for the natives to convert.  Here are a couple examples:

The church was build over an Inca temple and the floors are the original floors of the Inca temple. This is very common in Peru. When the Spanish came they burned down the native temples and erected churches in their own style to replace them. 

In this church they have a giant gold sun hanging above the altar and they also have an Inca cross on the ceiling of the church. A sun is not something ou normally see in a Catholic church and you definitely don't see Inca crosses! However the Jesuits were clever, and knew how important these symbols were to the natives so instead of denying them familiar symbols, they incorporated them into their religious practice. 

This church is not far from Cusco so many people come here to get married. 
Picture
San Pedro Apostol de Andahuayalillas
We were not allowed to take pictures inside but you can see the interior via Google image search.  After 10 hours of sightseeing (and sleeping on the bus) we arrived in beautiful Cusco! 
Picture
10 hours later...Cusco!
2 Comments
Maria Wallman
5/17/2013 12:56:49 am

How interesting and what an incredible experience you both are living. their cultures is very different. can you imagine if the Spanish would never discover them? LOL mami

Reply
prague bus services link
10/20/2013 05:14:56 pm

Nice post i get good information from this sharing thanks

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Eva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world.  

    Archives

    October 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Amalfi Coast
    Amazon Rainforest
    Amsterdam
    Argentina
    Art
    Aruba
    Asia
    Austin
    Australia
    Austria
    Award
    Baby
    Bali
    Barcelona
    Beijing
    Belize
    Berlin
    Bogota
    Boston
    Brazil
    BVI
    California
    Cambodia
    Cambridge
    Canada
    Cape Town
    Caribbean
    Cartagena
    Central America
    China
    Colombia
    Connecticut
    Costa Rica
    Cuba
    Culinary Delights
    Cusco
    Europe
    Family
    Family Travel
    Flights
    Florence
    Florida
    Food
    France
    Germany
    Hawaii
    Hong Kong
    Hotels/resorts
    Iceland
    Indonesia
    Ireland
    Italy
    Itineraries
    Lake Titicaca
    Live Like A Local
    Luxury
    Machu Picchu
    Maine
    Malaysia
    Massachusetts
    Mexico
    Nantucket
    New England
    New York
    New Zealand
    North Carolina
    Pacific Northwest
    Pack
    Paris
    Peru
    Pisa
    Planning
    Prague
    Provence
    Puerto Rico
    Puno
    Rhode Island
    Rincon
    Rome
    Rtw Trip
    Safar
    Safari
    Shanghai
    Sharks
    South Africa
    South America
    Spain
    Switzerland
    Thailand
    Travel Education
    Travel Tips
    Tunes
    Turkey
    Usa
    Vermont
    Washington
    Where To Stay

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.