The abode of the gods in Cusco

Suddenly, photographs of huge Gods carved in stones invaded social networks, without a doubt, it is a new and interesting tourist attraction in Cusco, but what tourist attraction are we talking about? Well, we refer to the Apukunaq Tianan or something like Many already know it The Abode of the Gods.

Surely, you already know what place we are talking about, and if you still haven't had a chance to get to La Morada de los Dioses, here we will tell you how to get there, what to do and what you will see. Come on!

The House of the Gods of Cusco is also known as Apukunaq Tianan of Cusco and comes to be a complex of lithic sculptures recently carved by a cusqueño named Michel de Titan Monteagudo Mejía. It is a place with its own magic due to the enormous size of the sculptures that measure between approximately 4 to 8 meters high. This modern and wonderful attraction was dedicated to the Gods of the Inca culture such as: La Pachamama, the Puma, the three-dimensional door and the Mirador (still under construction). It is currently a fashionable tourist attraction, especially for local and national visitors, hopefully it will also be for foreign tourists.

Where is the dwelling of the gods?

The APukunaq Tianan is located 13 kilometers from the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, by the Arch of Tica Tica, in an area called Huayna Corcor, in the town of Sencca, district of Poroy in the city of Cusco.

Altitude:

The Apukunaq Tiana is located at 3450 meters above sea level.

How was the Apunaq Tianan born?

The Apukunaq Tianan, was born thanks to a Cusco project in which it was proposed to keep the tradition of stone carving alive. This house shows its visitors a set of representative sculptures of Pachamama, water, the cosmos, the deities, the runa (man), among others.

During its elaboration, some traditional and important rituals were carried out in order to show respect to the deities, also some legends and myths were born that help with the curiosity of knowing this interesting place.

Let's talk about the myth of the dwelling of the gods

The people arrived and were taken face to face with these sculptures of approximately 10 meters in height, they are really impressed, with such a work of art made by the hand of man. And as is natural for us, human beings ask themselves questions that are answered thanks to contact with nature.

It should be noted that this construction was carried out on virgin land and that during this construction some of the people who worked, point out that the mystical beings called and known as mukis or goblins, made their appearance and also claimed to be part of this new tourist attraction in the Cusco. Therefore, it remains to carry out some representative works of the owners of this virgin land located near the well-known Arch of Titica Tica, we refer once again to the Mukis or elves.

Why is it recommended to visit the Apunaq Tianan?

The Apunaq Tianan, is the perfect place to spend a family day, with friends, with the boyfriend or with ourselves, because once we are at the top, we can see part of the city adorned with beautiful green hills, with an incredible blue sky, decorated with white clouds, which make this the perfect place to think and reflect.

What will I see?

The place is not an archaeological site. It was actually just a wasteland where stone proliferated. On this site, the artist Michael de Titán Monteagudo Mejía made several works of art in stone that made it one of the new tourist destinations in Cusco.

These are some of the works of art in the place:

• The puma – This animal was revered by various Andean cultures. The Incas considered it as a symbol of the earthly world, also called kaypacha.
• La pachamama – This Quechua name refers to the earth, a source of food and, therefore, life for men. For the Incas, the pachamama was a goddess who had to be thanked through rituals of 'payment to the earth'.
• The Three-Dimensional Door – This work represents an entrance into a stone formation, similar to a cave. For the Incas, the caves communicated the world of the living (kaypacha) with the world of the dead (ukupacha).
• The Andean man – Man, according to the Inca worldview, was created by the sun. The first son of the sun was Manco Cápac who led the Inca tribe to the valley of Cusco where the largest empire in South America would be founded.
• The man of the jungle – There is no evidence that the Incas entered the deep plain of the jungle. Even so, trade between the Incas and jungle dwellers was constant. The mysterious jungle was a source of products such as the coca leaf.

What was the procedure to perform this job?

Since the time of the Incas, the people of Cusco have practiced different methods of interfamily collective work, whose objective was to benefit the ayllu. This working method is currently being practiced in various provinces of the Cusco region.

For the construction of the Apukunaq Tianan, the Ayni method is applied, a family reciprocal work system between the members of the ayllu, destined for agricultural work and house construction. In simple words, it's something like, I give you this now and you give me back when I need it.

Thanks to the practice of Ayni, we can now see great results made by our ancestors.

How to get there?

The tours to the abode of the gods already include the tourist transport service.

If you go on your own you must follow the following steps:

• Take a public transport bus from the company 'Expreso Santiago'. I can board the bus at the 'Puente Rosario' bus stop, right in front of the famous Coricancha temple (a few steps from the Plaza de Armas). The trip takes approximately 30 minutes. The cost is only 1 Peruvian sol (0.3 US dollars).
• The final whereabouts are in the Poroy district. From there you must take a collective taxi (cost 2 Peruvian soles) or a private one (cost 10 Peruvian soles). The trip takes only 15 minutes.
• Another option is to do this last section on foot. The path is in a straight line on a trail path. The walk takes 1 hour on average.
• The return trip to the city of Cusco can be done in the same way as the outbound trip.

What is the best season to visit Apunaq Tianan?

As we know Cusco, it has two well-marked seasons during the year, the rainy season that covers the months of November to March and the dry season, between the months of April to October.

In this understanding, the best season to reach the Abode of the Gods is during the dry season, because the presence of rain is less and we can enjoy a good climate in Cusco.

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