The ancient city of Tiwanaku is located in the province of Ingavi, department of La Paz, Bolivia. It became a World Heritage Site in 2000. Tiwanaku is at an altitude of 3850 m, near the bank of Lake Titicaca on the Altiplano or Andean Plateau. Some believe that Tiwanaku’s modern name is related to the Aymara term ‘taypiqala’ meaning ‘stone at the centre’. This indicates that this city was believed to be the centre of the world.
However, there is no way of learning what it was called by its original inhabitants. The first mention of Tiwanaku in written history is by Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de Leon in 1549. He had been searching for Qullasuyu, a city of the Incas. The city has been mainly built using a type of clay called adobe. The main buildings in Tiwanaku include the Akapana Pyramid and enclosures called Kalasasaya and Palacio. Akapana is a step pyramid covered with cut andesite, a kind of volcanic rock. Kalasasaya is a rectangular enclosure made with stone columns and rectangular blocks. Its main feature is a massive Gateway of the Sun decorated with the figure of the Doorway God carrying a staff, and other figures of angels or winged messengers.
Tiwanaku also has many stone statues. Though most of the old city is covered up by modern buildings, the stone buildings in the ceremonial centre are still intact. The ceremonial centre is part of a protected archaeological zone.
Picture Credit : Google
