The Gateway of the Sun (Puerta del Sol), the Kalasasaya Temple, Tiwanaku, Bolivia. by ER's Eyes
At the far northwest corner of Kalasasaya is Tiwanaku’s best-known structure, the 10-ton Puerta del Sol. This megalithic gateway was carved from a single block of andesite, and archaeologists assume that it was associated with the sun deity. The surface of this fine-grained, gray volcanic rock is ornamented with low-relief designs on one side and a row of four deep niches on the other.
The gateway was most likely originally located in the center of Kalasasaya Platform and was used as a calendar, with the sun striking specific figures on the solstice and equinox.
There’s a smaller, similar gateway carved with zoomorphic designs near the western end of the site that is informally known as the Puerta de la Luna.
Kalasasaya is a tourist attraction, one of the Monuments and memorials in Comunidad Khasa Achuta, Bolivia. It is located: 2.7 km from Tiahuanaco, 169 km from La Paz, 850 km from Cochabamba. Read further
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