Ingapirca, Ecuador
¡Bienvenidos! Today's post is all about Ingapirca, the Cañari and Incan ruins of Ecuador. Located approximately 1.5 hours from Cuenca, the beautiful drive takes you through the mountains and more rural, country towns. You'll even be able to see roasted pigs lining the side of the road outside Biblián.
Ingapirca, or "Inca Wall" in the native language Kichwa, was originally established as a religious center for the Cañari people. The tribe built the temple of the moon located on the grounds and used local river stones for the construction. The grounds have a stone facing East and West, which align with the halls, and next to the stone is a burial site of a priestess. Buried with the priestess are her female servants, who were drugged and buried alive. The Cañaris had women hold the positions of priestess, mirroring their worship of the moon. They also constructed their buildings and rooms as circles, a stark contrast to the square shapes used later on site by the Incans. Additionally, the Incans imported their stones, making it clear the difference in builders on the site. However, for the sun temple, the Incans mirrored the circular shape of the moon temple.
On site there is a replica of an Incan house, which our guide explained had trapezoidal doors and windows to better withstand the earthquakes in the area. You'll also be able to see some llamas! The site is mostly just the foundation which the guide noted was because locals removed the stones for use in their own homes before the site became protected. However, there has been a push to return the stones and there is a large collection of them on site for you to see.
On the way back we stopped in Biblián to see the Santuario de la Virgen de "El Rocio," a church built into the side of the mountain. Our guide drove us to the top of the mountain and we walked down the stairs to see the view. He met us at the bottom. Along the stairs down yo9u’ll see small altars representing various scenes in the Bible of Jesus’ life. People place small stones on the altars as offerings.
From there we drove through Gualaceo to get to Chordeleg. You can read about that in my post about shopping.
