The Temple of the Three Windows, Mystical Windows to the Andes
Camino Inca, Peru
4.4
Introduction
The famous sacred site of Three Window Temple, located in Machu Picchu, is one of the most important temples in the region. A huge stone wall with three trapezoidal windows facing the Andes mountains was said to have been the spot where the founder of the Inca dynasty appeared. The design of the Three Window Temple fully showcases the exquisite skills of Inca stonemasons, and the function of this temple is still a mystery to this day. Although current archaeologists cannot determine whether the temple had a roof, it is speculated that priests may have used the advantageous viewing conditions here to observe celestial bodies for religious ceremonies. There is a rectangular stone slab outside the temple, which may have been used for sun observation or other religious rituals. In the most spectacular terraced fields of Machu Picchu, traces of llamas can be seen everywhere, but this place is no longer suitable for human habitation. Agriculture was once prosperous here hundreds of years ago, but there are still many unsolved mysteries today as the Inca civilization declined. Archaeologists have found some instruments used in mourning ceremonies at the temple site, indicating that the Three Window Temple was once used as a venue for some formal ceremonies.