5/19

Today we traveled to Pachacamac,which is located in the valley of Lurín in Peru. The museum of Pachacamac took us on a tour of the ruins of the sanctuary which was first settled around 200 B.C.E. and consisted of about 600 hectares. The sanctuary was made up of pyramids, temples, gravesites, and other structures. The three most important temples are called the Painted Temple, the Temple of the Sun, and the Old Temple of Pachacamac. Pachacamac became less respected upon the Incan invasion and then even less respected upon the Spanish Invasion. This site went on unnoticed due to the many layers of dust that accumulated over the years, and it wasn't until recently that is was rediscovered.
Walking along the winding path to the top of the sanctuary, we could see archeologists working in the desert. To the left of the path upwards, there was a large town across the main road. Apparently, many more ruins of Pachacamac exist underneath the town, but unfortunately that was not known when the location was first inhabited and so now the ruins are buried underneath.
My favorite part of the tour was the view. At the highest place of Pachacamac we could see the ocean on one side, and the desert on the other while looking at the architecture of the temples the whole time. The pictures I included below do not do Pachacamac justice!

A View of the Highest Point of Pachacamac

The Main Path of Pachacamac

One of the Temples of Pachacamac

One of the Temples of Pachacamac

The View of the Ocean from Pachacamac

The Town that Exists over the Ruins of Pachacamac