|
Location:
Hayu Marca, Peru. |
Grid Reference:
16� 10'' 18'' S, 69� 32'
28'' W . |
The Gate of the Gods:
(Carved Rock Face).
The Gate
of the Gods, or the "Puerta de Hayu Marca" has been at some
time in the distant past carved out of a natural rock face and in
all measures exactly seven meters in height by seven meters in width
with a smaller alcove in the centre at the base, which measures in
at just under two meters in height.
|
Gate of the Gods: (Puerta
de Hayu Marca') |
This huge mysterious door-like structure in the Hayu Marca mountain
region of Southern Peru near Lake Titicaca, lies 35 kilometres from
the city of Puno and is found in an area which has long been revered
by local indians as the "City of the Gods." Although no actual city
has ever been discovered, the area is known as a Spirit Forest, or
Stone Forest, made of strange rock formations that resemble
buildings, people, and other artificial structures (Simulacrum). The
door or the "Puerta de Hayu Marca" (Gate of the Gods) has been, at
some time in the distant past, carved out of a natural rock face and
in all, measures exactly 23' in height and width, with a smaller
alcove in the centre at the base which measures in at just under 6'
in height.
Jose Luis Delgado Mamani
stumbled across the structure in 1996 while trekking through the
surrounding foothills trying to familiarize himself with the area as
his job is as a guide for mountaineering tourists. "When I saw the
structure for the first time, I almost passed out..." said
Mamani in an interview with the local press.
LEGENDS:
The native
Indians of the region had a legend that spoke of "a
gateway to the lands of the Gods", and in that legend, it was said
that in times long past great heroes had gone to join their gods,
and passed through the gate for a glorious new life of immortality,
and on rare occasions those men returned for a short time with their
gods to "inspect all the lands in the kingdom" through the gate.
The small
circular depression in the centre is said to be the place where a
golden disk was placed.
Another legend tells
of the time when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Peru and
looted gold and precious stones from the Inca tribes. According to
one legend an Incan priest of the Temple of the Seven Rays
named Amaru Meru (Aramu Muru) fled from his temple
with a sacred
golden disk known as "the key of the gods of the seven rays",
and hid in the mountains of Hayu Marca. He eventually came upon the
doorway which was being watched by shamen priests. He showed them
the key of the gods and a ritual was performed with the conclusion
of a magical occurrence initiated by the golden disk which opened
the portal, and according to the legend blue light did emanate from
a tunnel inside. The priest Amaru Meru handed the golden disk to the
shamen and then passed through the portal "never to be seen again".
Archeologists have observed a small hand sized circular depression
on the right hand side of the small entranceway, and have theorized
that this is where a small disk could be placed and held by the
rock.
It has been
observed that the structure superficially resembles the Gate
of the Sun at Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco).
It is also said to be aligned by five other archaeological sites which
together form an imaginary cross with straight lines crossing each
other exactly at the point where the plateau and Lake Titicaca are
located.
The Gate of the Sun,
Tiahuanaco.
(Other
Peruvian Sites) |
