Located about 50 miles from Cuenca, in the province of Cañar, Ingapirca, a pre-Columbian ruin, is easily Ecuador’s largest and best preserved archaeological complex and is the northern major archeological site of the Inca empire north of Peru.

Ingapirca means “Wall of the Inca” and its construction combines the coppery brown of adobe used by Cañari culture with the bluish-green andesite stones brought subsequently by the Incas. It was built with millions of stones, in the middle of the 18th century. These ruins stand out, both for the extraordinary work of masonry in stone blocks that make up its walls, as well as the originality appreciated in the design of its main structure, a tall and bulky elliptical platform known as the “Castle of Ingapirca”.

The main purpose behind the Ingapirca structure is not known for certain. Several historians and archaeologists agree on the fact that it was built under the direct orders of the Inca Huayna Cápac, during the battles for territorial expansion and conquest of towns that the Inca Túpac Yupanqui, his father and predecessor, began years ago for the territories that today comprise the South of Ecuador.

Apparently, it was a place to aid in military strategies, but it seems to have been used mainly as a place of worship and veneration to the Sun, the maximum God of the Incas.

Ingapirca emerged as a new parish of the canton, Cañar on May 1st 1919 after petitions from its inhabitants was placed under the initiative and leadership of the priest Don Luis Sarmiento. Up to then, it had been one of many farming communities in the rural parish of El Tambo.

At about 10,433 feet elevation, the climate is considerably colder than Cuenca. With panoramic views, the sight of the Inca Empire’s only remaining sun temple stands proudly on a hill surrounding the Cañar province countryside.

9/25/18 - Ingapirca

This is in the visitor's center and shows local dress
A view of the ruins and countryside as we started our visit
The round holes are the bases of silos where quinoa, corn and wheat would have been kept to sustain the city
The large stone next to many smaller ones placed in an elliptical shape, in the middle of the picture, is believed to mark the grave site of a supposed collective burial of a chieftain and her court
This is a life-size model of a hut built in 1995, which allows the visitor to appreciate the different elements that make up an Inca room: compacted earth floor, adobe walls, the trapezoidal shape of the door, niches and windows, the high gables that guarantee good ventilation.
It is said during the solstice, this rock casts the shadow of a Puma across graves that lie under the circle of rocks beside it. You can see some of the rocks to the right.
I believe these are the bodegas that were used for food storage
The Sun Temple in the back with the surrounding countryside
Cañari did not cut or polish stone for their buildings but used them in their natural state. In the middle of the picture is a set of stairs made from uncut river stone run along side a set of basins obviously meant to hold and channel water.

From there, you get a good view of the Incan construction. You can see, even from a distance, the difference between the Cañari and Inca construction. In Inca construction the stones are shaped and fitted together very closely, a method used to build important buildings like temples or palaces. The stones themselves are a golden green and stand out from the dark gray river stone used almost everywhere else in the complex.
Cañari did not cut or polish stone for their buildings but used them in their natural state. In the middle of the picture is a set of stairs made from uncut river stone run along side a set of basins obviously meant to hold and channel water.

From there, you get a good view of the Incan construction. You can see, even from a distance, the difference between the Cañari and Inca construction. In Inca construction the stones are shaped and fitted together very closely, a method used to build important buildings like temples or palaces. The stones themselves are a golden green and stand out from the dark gray river stone used almost everywhere else in the complex.
Cañari did not cut or polish stone for their buildings but used them in their natural state. Here, a set of stairs made from uncut river stone run along side a set of basins obviously meant to hold and channel water.

Modern archeologists believe the basins where used by the Inca as ceremonial baths.
View of the countryside around Ingapirca
Man leading his two llamas through what were the bodegas, where food was stored
In the center back is the Sun Temple. To the left you see part of the network of water channels and small pools that were used for rituals.

To the right of that, the walls and platforms that are aligned along the bend were probably used for agricultural purposed.

The foreground shows part of structures that surround an open polygonal space, which is called Gran Kancha (Great Square). In the Quichua terminology of Inca architecture, the word kancha applies just to those central spaces of social function around which the houses were built.

To the right of the Gran Kancha are the bodegas, or storage areas and then closest to the Sun Temple, are La Condamine. It is assumed the function of La Condamine was to host and give food and drink to everyone attending the great feasts of Ingapirca or concentrations convened for the administration of Hatun Cañar .
There were lots of llamas around this day
Abby, Scarlett and Susan with llama
The Ellipse or ”The Castle” in traditional construction terminology is oval shaped and not in itself a room, but rather an elevated platform surrounded by a great wall of honey combed stones, which holds two rooms overlooking the West and East respectively. This position suggests a ceremonial purpose, because of the horizon of observation which allowed to identify the places of the rising and setting of the Sun.

The Incas built their temple to the Sun in the shape of an oval. This is believed to be due to Canari influence as the Canari used the oval shape for their temples. No other Incan temple is found in this shape anywhere across the Incan empire.

The temple itself was built by the Incas over the Canari holy site to worship the sun. It is said that beneath it is a huge rock that had been a holy place for the Canari, and the Incas chose to build in that same holy place.

The temple doorways were positioned so that on the solstices the sun would shine on religious statues during the solstice.
Cute llama looking at us
The city of Ingapirca
The paved road has been identified as Ingañan; It is a small sample representing the extensive road systems that the Incas built throughout their Empire with a design based on pavement and a slight slope that facilitated the fluidity of rain water towards the sides. This Ingañan must have been one of the entrances, perhaps the most important one, leading to Ingapirca.
The Canari had a sophisticated calendar system. They used a large rock called a “tacita rock” onto which holes of different depths were formed. As these holes filled with water, the Incas were able to observe the way that the moonlight shone in the same spots every lunar month of the year. The holes are placed at specific angles to catch the moon reflections on the surface of the water for each day. The large rock contains holes for each day of a month. Mid-sized rock contains holes for each moon month of the year while smaller rocks may have been used for tracking quarters.
The Canari had a sophisticated calendar system, based on the reflections of the moon in holes they had carved into rocks and filled with water. The holes are placed at specific angles to catch the moon reflections on the surface of the water for each day. The large rock contains holes for each day of a month. Mid-sized rock contains holes for each moon month of the year while smaller rocks may have been used for tracking quarters.
I am not sure if this is one of the "moonlight calendars" or not. It appears as though there is a line of reddish about 3/4 of the way up.
This is Cañari construction, notice the rounded stones
The Ellipse or ”The Castle” in traditional construction terminology is oval shaped and not in itself a room, but rather an elevated platform surrounded by a great wall of honey combed stones, which holds two rooms overlooking the West and East respectively. This position suggests a ceremonial purpose, because of the horizon of observation which allowed to identify the places of the rising and setting of the Sun.

The Incas built their temple to the Sun in the shape of an oval. This is believed to be due to Canari influence as the Canari used the oval shape for their temples. No other Incan temple is found in this shape anywhere across the Incan empire.

The temple itself was built by the Incas over the Canari holy site to worship the sun. It is said that beneath it is a huge rock that had been a holy place for the Canari, and the Incas chose to build in that same holy place.

The temple doorways were positioned so that on the solstices the sun would shine on religious statues in perfect alignment.
A network of water channels and small pools that were used for rituals.

The walls and platforms that are aligned along the bend were probably used for agricultural purposed.
View of the countryside around Ingapirca
I believe this was a drain allowing water through the wall
I believe this was a drain allowing water through the wall
Over time, many stones were taken by locals to build houses and other structures. When the site came to the notice of the authorities, and they began to excavate, conserve and restore it, a call was sent out to bring the stones back. Many of them were returned voluntarily. Others were collected by the military, who demolished buildings to recover them. Although they have not been integrated back into the site, the collection is very important to the locals, who play a big part in caring for this place.
The stones are in many different shapes because they were used for so many different things.
We were told this stone was used to attach a door as rope was strung through the groove and then to the door
The stones are in many different shapes because they were used for so many different things.
The stones are in many different shapes because they were used for so many different things.
Acllawasi (or Akllahuasis). This was the house of the chosen women, called "Virgins of the Sun" who served the Temple and whose daily life was dedicated to important Inca service activities, weaving and contemplation. The houses are linked to the Temple and the Ceremonial Plaza through a narrow and rectilinear corridor whose ends end in beautiful double-jamb trapezoidal doors.

Here you can see the corridor on the very left and the trapezoidal door, the opening at the end of the corridor.
View of the countryside around Ingapirca
View of the countryside around Ingapirca
The Incas used perfectly custom chiseled rocks with almost no space in between and no mortar
The stone with the two holes is where the rope was strung through the grooves to allow it to be attached to a door
Look at the perfectly shaped, green tinted stone, stacked so no mortar is needed
There is a chamber on top of the Temple of the Sun that is divided in two and each side has recesses. I was told this part of the chamber has been shaped so that during the solstice, at a certain time of the day, the sun would fall through narrow windows and illuminate sacred objects that were placed in the recesses.

Researchers investigated the ruins of Ingapirca and concluded that the altars within the Temple of the Sun receive direct illumination only at certain times of the year, specifically New Year or Inti Raymi. The Inti Raymi (in Quechua: "sun festival"), a religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti (Quechua for "sun"), one of the most venerated deities in Inca religion.
There is a chamber on top of the Temple of the Sun that is divided in two emclosures wose fronts look in opposite directions. One looks east and the other west. The two rooms are separated by a wall with niches or trapezoidal niches. This building with two opposite environments and without windows is considered as the sanctuary of the sun. In the opinion of archaeoastronic scholars (archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultures), the rays of the rising sun (eastern quarter) and the western (western quarter) penetrated through the doors to the niches of the dividing wall, pointing out periods of illumination and shadow. According to Ziolkowski's experiments, the eastern quarter would have been illuminated in the December solstice period, while the western one in the June solstice, a phenomenon interpreted by the aboriginal priests and sages to announce their festivals and the beginning of sowing and harvest respectively in the fields.
These steep stairs have only recently been uncovered
These steep stairs have only recently been uncovered
Looking from the Sun Temple you can see part of the old Inca Trail that cuts through the middle of the picture.

In the foreground are the La Condamine. It is assumed the function of La Condamine was to host and give food and drink to everyone attending the great feasts of Ingapirca or concentrations convened for the administration of Hatun Cañar .

Then in the middle, and to the right of the Inca Trail, are the bodegas, or storage units and next to that, the structures that surround an open polygonal space, which is called Gran Kancha (Great Square). You can see some llamas grazing in that area. In the Quichua terminology of Inca architecture, the word kancha applies just to those central spaces of social function around which the houses were built.
These are the ceremonial baths in the foreground with where the Cañari Moon Temple would be (the white area in front of the little house) behind that and then the countryside behind that
Scarlett, Abby and Susan standing at the top of the Sun Temple with the ruins and countryside behind
Here we are again, same place, but with the city of Ingapirca behind us