February 5, 2012
This huge Inca temple at Raqchi was mostly destroyed by the Spanish.
More great pictures of Inca stonework in Peru. As this team of young journalists report on their Peru trip — you will be treated to great travel stories. Click the “follow” button. And follow Stone Bank, too, if you aren’t already.
Prominent on the road between Puno and Cusco are the world’s largest Inca temple ruins, at Raqchi. Central to the ruins is the Temple of Wiracocha, which is 300 feet long — the length of a U.S. football field — by about 80 feet wide and 60 feet high, with Inca stonework covering the first 13 feet high and adobe the rest. The Incas built the temple and surrounding quarters and granaries in the 15th century, only to have the Spanish conquistadors knock much of it down around 1540 and later build their own church in its shadow. Located on the ancient Inca Road in a beautiful valley still some 11,500 feet above sea level, Raqchi remains home to artisenias, farmers and small ranchers.
Slide show produced by Mike Dorsher. Photos by Sharon Kessler, Mike Dorsher, Lacey Weninger, Phyllis Highman and Megan Roltgen.
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