What to see in Bolivia

Tiahuanaco Ruins

Tiahuanaco, located at 3800 metres of altitude, in the Bolivian high plateau very close to Lake Titicaca, was the capital of the Tiahuanaco people, the largest and oldest of the Andean American culture. One kilometre from it are the megalithic ruins, the most important in the country and representing the great architectural development of the time. In the main enclosure of the archaeological zone, whose excavations have not yet concluded, you can find The Pyramid of Akapana a ceremonial centre, formed by seven platforms that today can hardly be distinguished. From above you can see the curious "suracollos", agricultural formations designed by the inhabitants to improve crop performance.

The Temple of Kalasasaya is oriented to mark astronomical phenomena and in its two hectares of extension houses the Puerta del Sol built in andesite stone, there are inscriptions of the lunar calendar and an image of "the lord of the staffs "carved in the frieze, holding a sceptre in each hand. A Ponce monolith, sculpted in a single block of volcanic earth of the Andes, portrays a human figure holding a sacred vessel. Near the ruins of Tiahuanaco is Puma Punku or Puerta del Puma, a large pyramidal structure.

The truth is that the Tiahuanaco culture also called the mother culture of the American continent, left behind an important megalithic empire. Its large ceremonial complex built according to a complex urban planning with a network of channels that evacuated rainwater and waste represents the mastery of architecture and other techniques such as arts and astronomy. Everything about this pre-Inca town is based on theories and hypotheses of archaeologists and scholars, so many questions about the vestiges of this ancient pre-Columbian city become an enigma to be deciphered.