Sun Temple

The Sun Temple in Cuzco, Peru, known as the Koricancha, was a central site of Inca religion, dedicated to the sun god Inti. Built with precisely fitted stones, its walls were once covered in gold and silver plates, and it featured gold models of plants and animals. This temple served as a nucleus for astronomical observation and was part of a larger religious system that included shrines and sacred sites called huacas. Cuzco itself was the capital of the vast Inca empire, Tawantinsuyu, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Western Hemisphere. The city's architecture showcases the Incas' advanced engineering and stonework, with many original Inca foundations still visible beneath Spanish colonial structures.12