Sun Temple Ollantaytambo

The sun temple is made of 6 blocks of huge stones. In between the big blocks are the smaller ones slotted in the gaps between the bigger blocks. These smaller ones were put in between to absorb the shock waves during earthquakes. When the Incas were using it, one of the blocks had carvings of 3 pumas on it, another one had one puma and the middle had the step symbol of Panchamama (Earth). All the symbols were destroyed by the Spanish but still some traces of the original carvings are visible.
The symbol of Panchamama had lead some historians to believe that this could have been a temple of the Earth and not the sun. Most historians still believe it to be the Sun Temple since on the solstice of 21 Jun, the 1st rays of the sun light up the profile of the Inca king on the opposite hill and the shadow falls on the sun temple stones.Read more