Northernmost main Inca
fortification; Ecuador's "Machu Picchu" at par with many
of Peru's Sacred Valley monuments;
Mixed Inca and Canari
architecture;
Temple of the Sun its most
significant structure;
Temple of the Sun built in
Inca style without mortar;
Canari style buildings built with
mortar;
Fascinating Solstice stone and calendar stones;
80 km from Cuenca;
Daily trips from Cuenca;
Elevation 3180 masl and rather cold when the sun
is not shining (afternoons).
Ingapirca Inca Ruins, Ecuador
INGAPIRCA INCA RUINS ECUADOR, INCA EMPIRE's NORTHERNMOST
CITADEL. We organize tours, provide an Ingapirca Map,
great Pix, Solid info on “Ecuador's Machu Picchu” and
great pix.
At a road
distance of ±80km from Cuenca, this UNESCO Heritage site is located in the
Andes of
Ecuador,
at an elevation of 3,200 masl, slightly higher than the
the nation's capital, but usually considerably colder. The
Ruins of Ingapirca, known as the “Machu Picchu of Ecuador”
are the most northern major archeological site of the Inca
empire north of Peru, with the Temple of the Sun beings
its most significant structure. Elliptically shaped is was
constructed around a large rock on top of a mountain. The
main building is constructed Inca-style without mortar,
but some parts are built in the Canari fashion, who used
mortar to stabilize their walls. The stones of the Inca
walls were carefully chiseled and fashioned to fit together
perfectly. On the top of the Temple of the Sun there is
a small chamber, which now has mostly fallen down. Originally
the chamber was positioned so that on the solstices sunlight
would fall through the center of the doorway.
Dear visitor, our website gives you info about
our
National Parks Tours,
our
Galapagos programs, the
Cuyabeno Loop,
as well as our
Cuyabeno and Cofan Lodges in the Amazon.
For those who want to combine the
Exuberant Nature of Ecuador with the Famous culture of Peru, we even have a
7
days Highlights of Peru extension! Our website
gives you the best information on the internet, because we are the only tour
operator run by professional biologists. Take a look:
OUR PARKS AND TRIBES ECO TOURS
(Scroll down for the full description of the current page)
STANDARD COFAN LODGE TOUR
Start your Cuyabeno journey on
Ecuador's most scenic wide Amazon tributary, the Aguarico River. Spend 3 nights in the Cofan Lodge,
exploring the lower Cuyabeno and Zábalo Rivers.
The Cuyabeno Loop explores
the breathtaking scenery of lower Cuyabeno and Zábalo
Rivers and the Cuyabeno Lake. Watch the amazing birds and
wildlife. Pass 2 nights with the amazing Cofan Indians in
the Cofan Lodge and enjoy 2 nights of comfort in the famous
Cuyabeno Lodge.
The Lagarto Cocha Expedition on hidden
creeks and lakes is the best Amazon journey in Ecuador!
Discover Indian tribes in Ecuador, Monkeys, Sloths,
Dolphins. No other Amazon rainforest in any of the
Amazon-Andean countries can match the wildlife viewing
of Cuyabeno and it is far better than Yasuní!
The Cuyabeno Lake Program
explores all the wild places surrounding the Cuyabeno Lake.
Bonsai-shaped Macrolobia trees with the whispering of the
mysterious prehistoric Hoatzin birds and the noisy Blue and
Yellow Macaws. Our Cuyabeno Lodge is on the best location,
because we were the first and chose the best location on a
seasonal island in the Cuyabeno Lake itself.
Our Northern Andes Tour lets you get a
taste of some of the best Andean National Parks,
visiting the highest groves in the world: the Polylepis
trees, the highest mountain in the world calculated from
the center of the Earth, the Chimborazo with Vecuñas and
Lamas, the highest active volcano in the world, the
Cotopaxi.
Our National Parks Tours take you on a fantastic
journey along the best possible sample of Andean and coastal
parks. They have been designed to complement
Galapagos and/or Amazon cruises. They can start from different places, particularly Quito,
Guayaquil and Cuenca. While the full program lasts 9 days, it is possible to
make a limited selection of parks, like the 6 days' "Andes
and Coast" module.
We have a fabulous selection of Galapagos
programs, including cruises, island hopping, scuba
diving or relaxing on one of the many different hotels
varying from modest inns to deluxe resorts.
A fabulous program for visiting the most
famous cultural highlights Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and the
Sacred Valley. At the same time it serves as the Lima hub
for the Peru National Parks Tour. This module is an
extension to our National Parks Tour Ecuador and/or Galapagos National Park
and/or Amazon Cruises.
Only briefly before the arrival of the Spanish Conquerors,
the Incas had subjected the Canari people, and in fact, Ingapircaused to be a fortification with both Inca and Canari
styles, which
is visible throughout the site. While the true objective
of the site is not fully understood, the city must have
played a military role as a fortress to dominate what is
now northern Ecuador and Southern Colombia. The Puma design
of the city and the half moon shape of the site, reflect
the Canari civilization, while the Sun temple with its Inca
walls reflect the Inca culture.
It is said that the Inca Tupac Yupanqui during the expansion's
campaigns of the Inca-Empire trough south Ecuador, met the
Canari "Hatun Canar" tribe and strategically married the
Canari princess Paccha, giving on birth to the future Inca
Huayna Capac in the city of Pumapungo (nowadays Cuenca),
thus merging the Canari and Inca cultures, in which the
Incas were sun worshippers, while the Canaris were moon
worshippers. In this way, the Inca dominated the Canari
and they decided to settle their differences and live together
peacefully. The Canari people built this complex for the
Inca Huayna Capac. They renamed the city and kept most of
their individual customs separate. Although the Inca were
more numerous, they did not demand that the Canari give
up their autonomy. Like in most other major Inca sites,
at the Ingapirca Ruins too a sophisticated underground aqueduct
system was constructed to distribute water to the entire
compound.
The religions of the Incas and the Canaris were very different:
The Incas were sun worshippers, while the Canari were moon
worshippers. Supposedly, the rounded shape of the site reflects
the half moon.
As a cult edification, people had numerous ritual celebrations
on the complex. Supposedly, great quantities of a local
fermented drink (chicha) were used in these festivals. As
sun and moon worshippers, they tried to be as close to their
gods as possible.
The Weather at Incapirca, ecuador
The
weather
at Ingapirca is different from the cities of
Cuenca
and
Quito, Ecuador's
capital.
At 3180 masl, and located on a mountain top in stead of
in a valley, the weather is considerably colder, but the
patterns are similar: sunny mornings prevail, while the
afternoons often become cloudy and rain showers may undermine
your experience. Therefore we prefer to organize morning
visits to Ingapirca out of Cuenca, and have you back by
14:00 hrs in Cuenca, so that you can enjoy Colonial Cuenca,
where you are less dependent on good weather.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World
Heritage Site, Ingapirca, has been well-studied over the
past 4 decades and is a must for any
Ecuador
trip or
Ecuador Andes
trek.
The city design is shaped as a puma, while the compound
as a whole reflects a half moon and merges both the Canari
and Inca construction styles and civilizations. There is
a brand new nice-looking visitor center just outside the
historical site, but as a museum it still needs to be developed.
Much better museums are found in Cuenca and Quito. Read
more on our page:
Museums in
Ecuador.
Entrance sign.
Ingapirca map showing the Puma design.
City layout of Ingapirca with drainage channels.
Ingapirca housing and storage area.
An overview of the IngapircaRuins, Ecuador
Ingapirca
shows the merging of two great cultures: the Inca architectures
uses perfectly custom chiseled rocks with almost no space
in between, while the Canari architectures uses mildly shapes
rocks held together with mortar.
Inca wall with with typical
trapezoid inca door.
Canari wall of an Inca
design building of a noble family.
The chamber on top of the Temple of the Sun has been shaped
so that during the solstice, at a certain time of the day,
the sun would fall through narrow windows and lighten holy
items.
More and more, the Ecuadorian middle class families go visit
their cultural sites. Teaches take their high school classes
on annual excursions, like this class.
Ingapirca collective grave with astronomical rock.
Inca house at Ingapirca Ecuador.
The Canari had different burial systems and rites. The stone
in this picture shows casts the shadow of a Puma during
the Solstice. Influenced by the Incas, the had houses that
in shape are similar to those on Machu Pichu, but which
are primarily terracotta buildings, as opposed to the ones
in Peru, which are build out of rocks.
The Canari had a sophisticated calendar system, based on
the reflections of the moon in holes they had carved into
rocks, placed under specific angles to catch the moon reflections
for each moon-month of the year.
Fortress with Ingapirca Inca ruin of the Temple of the Sun
The weather often changes rapidly in the afternoon. These
pictures were taken of the Inca Temple of the Sun within
half an hour. As we left the site for lunch 45 minutes later,
the site was covered in a drizzly rain and as we learned
later from our contact at the site, the sun did not come
out again in the afternoon. So we prefer to arrange excursions
in the morning without stops on the way. That way you can
still enjoy a pleasant afternoon in Cuenca at much more
pleasant temperatures.
The IngapircaInca Ruins, Ecuador, are built on
a mountain with a giant face shaped rock at the bottom of
the Temple of the Sun.
While the
surroundings of the site are being commercially developed,
don't expect many great restaurants or quality souvenir
shops. For the latter, you may want to wait until you are back in Cuenca,
Quito or Otavalo, for which the best shopping areas are
on our page on
Art and Craft
in Ecuador.
Trips are
almost daily available. They leave Cuenca early in the morning,
serve lunch in a nice hacienda (old colonial farm) near
Ingapirca, after which you return to Cuenca. Our
Andes Trek,
Ecuador
program includes the best
National Parks
of Ecuador
in the Andes as well as the famous cultural highlights.
Please contact us for information,
rates
and bookings.
+593 2 2 50 5310, +593 96 29 35 271
PARKS
AND TRIBES
