{"id":4782,"date":"2021-11-16T11:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T11:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salkantaytrekking.com\/blog\/?p=4782"},"modified":"2024-09-13T09:26:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T14:26:07","slug":"the-intihuatana-stone-in-machu-picchu-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salkantaytrekking.com\/blog\/the-intihuatana-stone-in-machu-picchu-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Intihuatana Stone in Machu Picchu Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>, one of the&nbsp;<strong>New Seven Wonders of the World<\/strong>, attracts thousands of visitors each year. The site astounds everyone who goes there with the incredible large stones strategically placed on a mountainside as well as the&nbsp;<strong>stunning surroundings.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing that stands out and perhaps gives us more hints to what the site was really used for is the intriguing&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana stone<\/strong>. It\u2019s the&nbsp;<strong>most visited<\/strong>&nbsp;site in&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>&nbsp;and you\u2019ll definitely see it on your trip. A lot of people get told it\u2019s just a sundial, but it was a lot more than that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll explore what the stone looks like and what its main function was. We\u2019ll also tell you about another&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana in Pisac<\/strong>&nbsp;and give you a few facts about the stone in&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-the-intihuatana-stone\">What Is the Intihuatana Stone?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The word&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana&nbsp;<\/strong>is in the&nbsp;<strong>Quechua<\/strong>&nbsp;language, which was spoken by the Incas and still many people in Peru today. It means<strong>&nbsp;\u2018place to tie up the sun\u2019<\/strong>.&nbsp;<em>Inti&nbsp;<\/em>means sun,&nbsp;<em>wata&nbsp;<\/em>to tie, and&nbsp;<em>na<\/em>&nbsp;is a suffix to mean a tool or place. We aren\u2019t sure that the Incas actually gave it this name as there are no written records, but experts named it this due to its form and function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-does-the-intihuatana-stone-look-like\">What Does the Intihuatana Stone Look Like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Intihuatana at Machu Picchu<\/strong>&nbsp;was carved from a huge slab of rock from the surrounding mountains. It stands at the highest elevation inside the archeological site, which is usually known as&nbsp;<strong>the Sacred Plaza<\/strong>. It sits above a pyramid-like tiered form with the rock on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a&nbsp;<strong>four-sided stone<\/strong>&nbsp;and each point represents the north, south, east, and west. It does look like a<strong>&nbsp;sundial<\/strong>, which was one of its main purposes. You\u2019ll also notice lots of other steps and dents on the stone, which indicate other uses of the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salkantaytrekking.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/intihuatana-solar-clock-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Intithuatana solar clock Cusco Peru machu picchu\" style=\"width:840px;height:560px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-find-the-intihuatana-in-machu-picchu\">How to Find the Intihuatana in Machu Picchu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you visit&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>&nbsp;by yourself and need to locate the stone, you\u2019ll find it in the Hanan part of the&nbsp;<strong>archeological<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>site<\/strong>, which is near a hill in a&nbsp;<strong>pyramid shape<\/strong>. There are two sets of steps that lead directly to the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana<\/strong>. One comes from the north-side of the complex and the other from the south.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is one of the major sites in&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>&nbsp;and shouldn\u2019t be missed. You need to keep in mind that a lot of visitors will be heading to the stone and it is only open from 7-10 am, so make sure you visit in that period.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-was-the-intihuatana-stone-s-function\">What Was the Intihuatana Stone\u2019s Function?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most experts agree that the&nbsp;<strong>Intihutana\u2019s<\/strong>&nbsp;main&nbsp;<strong>function<\/strong>&nbsp;was&nbsp;<strong>astronomical.<\/strong>&nbsp;The idea that it was a sundial comes from the fact that the sun sits directly above the stone on the two equinoxes (March 21st and September 21st) and it creates no shadow at all. This happens because the point on&nbsp;<strong>the Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;has a slight inclination of 13 degrees. This really shows the depth of&nbsp;<strong>knowledge<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>the Incas<\/strong>&nbsp;had regarding&nbsp;<strong>astrology.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many believe that the Incas performed ceremonies on these dates to ensure a great harvest and prosperity throughout their community.&nbsp;<strong>The sun god (Inti)<\/strong>&nbsp;was the main god of the&nbsp;<strong>ancient culture<\/strong>, and they held huge respect for the celestial body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;is associated with the&nbsp;<strong>summer<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>winter solstice<\/strong>, but this is likely untrue.&nbsp;<strong>The Temple of<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>the Sun<\/strong>&nbsp;that\u2019s just a few hundred meters away is the only place that casts a shadow on these dates.&nbsp;<strong>Inti Raymi<\/strong>&nbsp;is the&nbsp;<strong>winter solstice<\/strong>&nbsp;festival and is celebrated in&nbsp;<strong>Cusco<\/strong>&nbsp;on June 24th every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, on&nbsp;<strong>the<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>summer solstice<\/strong>&nbsp;in December, the light from the sunrise projects a triangle on the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;which shows two clear circles on the ground. No one is entirely sure of its use, but these are&nbsp;<strong>popular theories.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding the small dents and steps, some suggest they were for&nbsp;<strong>astronomical purposes<\/strong>&nbsp;while others think they were likely used in ceremonies, maybe for sacrifices or putting&nbsp;<strong>mummies<\/strong>&nbsp;of their&nbsp;<strong>ancestors<\/strong>&nbsp;on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thought suggests that on the&nbsp;<strong>equinox dates<\/strong>&nbsp;the Inca would \u2018tie\u2019 the sun down to stop it from going down forever. They knew that if the sun didn\u2019t exist, all life as they knew it would come to an end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s one thing we know for sure, and that\u2019s the fact that<strong>&nbsp;the Incas<\/strong>&nbsp;were an extremely&nbsp;<strong>agricultural society<\/strong>. Being so high up in the mountain also meant that sowing seeds at the right times of year would make crops flourish rather than die. For this reason, the speculations surrounding<strong>&nbsp;Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;are very likely true.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-development-of-knowledge-about-the-intihuatana-at-machu-picchu\">Development of Knowledge About the Intihuatana at Machu Picchu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1920, by coincidence, a German&nbsp;<strong>astronomer<\/strong>&nbsp;called&nbsp;<strong>Ralf M\u00fcller<\/strong>&nbsp;figured out that the two larger sides of the stone were looking 25.5 degrees off&nbsp;<strong>magnetic<\/strong>&nbsp;north and 27.5 degrees off magnetic west. Because of this, he worked out that they would point in those directions at the start of&nbsp;<strong>winter<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>summer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before him and&nbsp;<strong>Hiram Bingham,<\/strong>&nbsp;no one in the western world knew about the stones at&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>. However, it\u2019s thought that&nbsp;<strong>William Prescott&nbsp;<\/strong>wrote something about&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;at Machu Picchu many years before in 1847, which says the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cThe period of the equinoxes they determined by the help of a solitary pillar, or gnomon, placed in the center of a circle, which was described in the area of the great temple and traversed by a diameter that was drawn from east to west. When the shadows were scarcely visible under the noontide rays of the sun, they said that \u201cthe god sat with all his light upon the column.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We aren\u2019t entirely sure that this piece of text was about the<strong>&nbsp;Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;as it was written 64 years before Hiram Bigham\u2019s \u2018rediscovery\u2019 of&nbsp;<strong>the archeological site.<\/strong>&nbsp;There are also plenty of other cultures around the globe that celebrate similarly important celestial events. Many do believe it\u2019s about the stone at&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu,<\/strong>&nbsp;though.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-another-example-of-an-intihuatana-stone\">Another Example of an Intihuatana Stone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>, the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana stone<\/strong>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<strong>Pisac<\/strong>&nbsp;also survived. It\u2019s around 85 km from the&nbsp;<strong>Inca citadel<\/strong>&nbsp;and often missed by&nbsp;<strong>tourists<\/strong>. A majority of visitors to Pisac only wander around the upper part of&nbsp;<strong>the archaeological site<\/strong>, but if you have the time, we recommend you head 30 minutes down into&nbsp;<strong>the valley<\/strong>&nbsp;to see the stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s actually a very well-maintained&nbsp;<strong>temple zone<\/strong>&nbsp;and in the middle, you\u2019ll find a curved-wall structure, which indicates it was a&nbsp;<strong>temple of the sun<\/strong>. Inside this building is&nbsp;<strong>the small Intihuatana<\/strong>, only about 30 centimeters high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike the stone at&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>, this one was carved from the natural bedrock instead of being like a statue. Some say it was to form a link from the Earth to the&nbsp;<strong>spiritual world<\/strong>, which we know the Incas also had a great belief in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-intihuatana-machu-picchu-facts\">Intihuatana Machu Picchu Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few fun facts we know about the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;stone at&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For many years, visitors were allowed to touch the stone to feel the energy that radiated off it. However, after some incidents,&nbsp;<strong>the sacred stone<\/strong>&nbsp;is now sectioned off. A security guard is always looking over the structure to make sure no hands are placed on the surface of the&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A beer company was sued in 2005 for damaging the stone during a commercial they shot there. A 1,000-pound crane actually fell on the upper tip of the stone and, unfortunately, a small piece of it got chipped off. You can imagine the huge uproar from the locals.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Many visitors still claim to feel&nbsp;<strong>huge energy<\/strong>&nbsp;or something special as they walk past the stone.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As already mentioned,&nbsp;<strong>the stone can only be visited between 7-10 am every day.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-other-important-sites-at-machu-picchu\">Other Important Sites at Machu Picchu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re wondering what other important parts of the&nbsp;<strong>Inca citadel<\/strong>&nbsp;you should visit, check out our list of must-see attractions in&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Sun Gate (Inti Punku)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Huayna Picchu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Machu picchu Mountain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inca Bridge<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Watchman\u2019s Hut<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Funerary Stone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Temple of the Sun<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Royal Tomb<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Fountains<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Temple of Three Windows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Principal Temple<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>House of the High Priest<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>House of Ornaments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Central Plaza<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Sacred Rock<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Mortar\/Industrial Section<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Prison Group<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Terraces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211204171716im_\/https:\/\/www.salkantaytrekking.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/other-places-in-machu-picchu-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"other-places-in-machu-picchu\" class=\"wp-image-5183\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-miss-out-on-intihuatana\"><strong>Don\u2019t Miss Out On Intihuatana<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the different theories as to what the stone was used for, the main belief is that it was for&nbsp;<strong>agricultural<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>astronomical purposes<\/strong>. When you visit&nbsp;<strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>, make sure you head to&nbsp;<strong>Intihuatana<\/strong>&nbsp;to see its&nbsp;<strong>unique structure&nbsp;<\/strong>and see if you feel the energy so many have reported coming from the stone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written by: Liv Palmer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Machu Picchu, one of the&nbsp;New Seven Wonders of the World, attracts thousands of visitors each year. The site astounds everyone who goes there with the incredible large stones strategically placed on a mountainside as well as the&nbsp;stunning surroundings. One thing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[418,419,3],"class_list":["post-4782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-machu-picchu","tag-intihuatana-stone","tag-intihuatana-stone-explained","tag-machu-picchu-tour"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Intihuatana Stone in Machu Picchu Explained<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Uncover the mystery of the Intihuatana Stone in Machu Picchu. 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