Don’t you just love the rhythm of that name – Inga pirca?
I’m not much of a history buff (T is), but the idea that a society existed in the 1600’s and that the buildings are still somewhat in tact amazes both of us.
Ingapirca Ruins, Ecuador…
On the right is the Inca Road that goes for miles and miles through the Andes Mountains.
At very high altitudes of 10,000 feet above sea level in a basin between mountains, the views from Ingapirca Ruins left us standing with our mouths wide open.
The most significant building at the Ingapirca ruins is the Temple of the Sun, an elliptical-shaped building constructed in the traditional Incan way—without mortar. This fact makes the archeological site even more impressive.
Each stone was chiseled by hand and perfectly fit together. Apparently, the stones were heated to make the chiseling easier for a perfect fit.
The Incas who built this site even had a type of plumbing system.
The Temple of the Sun showed the knowledge of the Incas. The temple was built so that on the solstices, sunlight would fall into the center of a doorway.
The Festival of the Sun was a yearly Incan religious ceremony in honor of one of their gods, Inti Raymi, and one can envision the ceremony taking place in that very spot.
Ingapirca has the largest archeological ruins in the country.
Astonishingly beautiful views from the top of the ruins, and they were stunning in every direction!
There were some strange carved rocks. One was a Sacrificial Rock.
But what were these rocks used for? Any ideas???
What we liked most was the obvious original and natural environment, set in a broad mountain valley with farm land all around, and alpacas grazing in the field next to the ruins.
After wandering the Ingapirca ruins most of the day, we stayed close-by at the lovely Posada Ingapirca Inn…
The key to our room…
The grounds were gorgeous…
The Games Room was rather unique…
And the views from the inn were incredible too…
That night we had dinner at the Ingapirca Inn…
They offered us this exotic drink made from a purple plant… it was good!
And dessert with a purple sauce (the chef must have been experimenting with purple foods)…
That night a dreamy purple fog settled in at the Ingapirca Inn…
And we slept soundly with soft purple dreams of Inca ruins enveloped in a purple fog…
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Brought back memories of Pueblo Ruins tour we took on the way to the Grand Canyon about 10 years ago. There were only 4 of us and the Guide was so knowledgeable. However, the countryside is so much prettier than in the desert, and the evening meal/purple hues reflecting in the fog are mesmerizing for sure.
Oh, the Pueblo Ruins would be fascinating too. Funny, I’m not much into History of a place, but I think the Ruins as an actual evidence of a former people right in front of you makes it far more real for me rather than just words in a book. Yes, the purple fog was a little magical.
Wow! Beautiful Pictures. Purple fog = Cool 🙂
Thanks Connie! The fog was really magical…
Gorgeous!
Thank you Zoltan!
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This brought back some memories Shirley. You forgot to mention that the Inga Pirca ruins are in Ecuador!
Alison
Thanks for commenting Alison and Don. Actually, I did mention that the Ingapirca ruins were in Ecuador, right at the beginning.