Pre-Inka culture, Tiwanaku
The Inkas are worldwide known, right?
But where do they come from? The answer is only an hour and half from La Paz, Tiwanaku a culture way older than anything I knew before
The Tiwanaku culture ruled Bolivia, the south of Peru, the north of Chile and Argentina. They were in existence between the years 1500 B.C. and 1200 A.D. and many of the Inka traditions come from them. The archeological site is really interesting, but a bit sad. I can´t believe that something as important as this is almost forgotten by archeologists. There is a piramid that is being excavated, but at the pace they are going is gonna take them 15 years! Why? No money! and it´s even an UNESCO world heritage site!!! The government gives some money but the majority comes from the entry fees and from a beer company (this made me support that company strenuously ;))
Whipala flag, the Andean indigenous flag representing more than I can tell you (google it it´s really interesting)
Pottery, gold, the Andean cross and calendars, they had it all. One of the most amazing things to see are the monoliths with man or animals forms, some up to 17 meters high!
Also a place with 175 different faces carves out of stone, representing either the number of plagues and diseases that attacked them, or the victims that they sacrified.
To finish you can´t miss La Puerta del Sol a faboulous arch with a lunar calendar carved in it.
Just amazing! I mean everyone likes ruins, no? At least to get into the shade 🙂
Tags: Bolivia, Photography, Simon Uribe, Travel
simonuribe@yahoo.com
Leave a Reply