 Underground temple | ||
| Tiahuanaco | ||
| Department | La Paz | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | unknown | |
no value for residents on Wikidata:  | ||
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
| ||
Tihuanaco is a city in Altiplano in Bolivia.
background
Tihuanaco or Tiwanaku denotes both a village with around 800 inhabitants and a ruined city right next to it, which is one of the most important historical sites in Bolivia at 3870 m above sea level. is.
The Tiwanaku culture had its peak in the period from 400-900 AD. It is controversial whether the city was still on the banks of the Lake Titicaca found[1], today it is 20 km away: the Titicaca gradually but surely loses more and more of its volume through evaporation.
A riddle is how the stones of the Sun Gate, for example, could be brought up. It was originally a monolith weighing around 10 tons, and the closest occurrence of this rock is several kilometers away.
The excavations are far from over, most of the finds are documented and explained in a museum.
Tihuanaco has been part of the since 2000 UNESCO world cultural heritage
getting there
Tihuanaco is easy to get to from La Paz in around 1.5 hours. The minibuses leave the Cementerio / cemetery as soon as they are full, which means there are several daily departures. There are also buses and taxis going to this place. However, you should be careful where you get off, as the border with Peru and passport control are right behind Tihuanaco. Some buses do not go directly to the excavation site.
Entry to Tihuanaco
Tourists pay around 10 times the entry price as residents. However, entry for tourists is affordable with around 80 BOB (9 EUR) for everyone. Both museums on site are included in the admission fee.
Tourist Attractions
- In the complex there are the Underground Temple, the Akapana Pyramid, the Sun Gate and the Kalasasaya Temple
- A few 100 meters from the main part of the complex is the Pumapunku pyramid, which is well worth seeing with many carved stone blocks
- At the edge of the complex is the museum with the ceramics and stone departments
- On the way back to La Paz you have several wonderful views of the Cordillera mountains such as Chacaltaya, Mururaki and Illimani.
