Intihuatana – Machu Picchu, Peru
Intihuatana – Sacred Rock
Located at the west side of Machu Picchu is the Intihuatana, the so-called “Hitching Post of the Sun”, which is probably the most important of the many shrines found at Machu Picchu. An Intihuatana is a ritual stone associated with the astronomical clock or calendar of the Inca and every major Inca center had one. These stones are arranged to point directly at the sun during the winter solstice. The Inca believed the stone held the sun in its place along its annual path in the sky. At midday on November 11 and January 30 the sun stands almost above the pillar, casting no shadow at all. On June 21 the stone is casting the longest shadow on the southern side and on December 21 a much shorter one on the northern side.
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