Temple of the Sun - Tower
Dedicated to Inti, the Inca sun god and greatest deity.
A semi-circular fortified tower built over a large flat rock which forms the foundation of the tower. Inside is a series of vaults used to store religious objects; also a large flat stone which probably would have served as an altar.
The tower has three windows, two of which (the smallest) had an astrological purpose. Through the front window, which looks toward the mausoleum, enter the first sun rays of the year on the winter solstice, 21st June. (Seasons of the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere are opposites, and the summer solstice of one hemisphere is the winter solstice of the other.) The window is aligned with incredible precision with the altar stone. Equally, during the summer solstice on the 21st of December, a similar phenomenon takes place with the sun's rays entering through the window on the right hand side.
The larger window is known as the 'window of the snakes' because it is thought that sacred snakes may have been kept beneath the window. The tower exhibits the finest surviving architecture at Machu Picchu.
This construction has a lot in common with the Sun Temple in Cusco (Koricancha). The similarity is no coincidence because for the Incas the sun (Inti) was their most important god; for this reason, throughout the Inca period, temples dedicated to the Sun God were constructed.
