Coricancha- Inca LocationLocation · Landmark"House of the Sun"

The Golden Enclosure

Tradition held that Manco Capac established the first shrine to Inti here when he founded Cusco at the navel of the world. The transformation came under Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, who rebuilt the Coricancha after his victory over the Chanka. Betanzos records that Pachacuti personally supervised the rebuilding. The stonework was the finest in the empire: precisely cut blocks of andesite fitted without mortar, their surfaces polished smooth. Those blocks have survived earthquakes that destroyed the Spanish church built on top of them.

The central courtyard held the golden garden. Garcilaso de la Vega described golden stalks of maize with silver leaves and golden llamas tended by golden herders. Even the butterflies were cast in gold.

Shrines of the Sun

The principal chamber was oriented to receive the first rays of dawn. Inside stood the Punchao, a golden representation of Inti. Different chroniclers describe it as a great disk or an anthropomorphic figure with rays emanating from its body. Betanzos claimed it contained the desiccated hearts of deceased emperors. A carefully positioned doorway admitted the morning sun, and the Punchao's surface blazed with reflected light, filling the room with blinding radiance. The walls were covered in gold plates, perhaps 700 sheets, each weighing about two kilograms.

Adjacent chambers honored Mama Quilla in silver and Illapa the thunder god in gold.

The Dead Enthroned

Within the Coricancha sat the mummified Sapa Incas and their Coyas, dressed in the finest cumbi cloth and enthroned on golden seats. Attendants maintained them as though they were alive, offering food and drink daily and changing their garments.

During major festivals, the mummies were carried through Cusco in golden litters. Chicha was poured into their mouths and drained through tubes. Food was placed before them and later burned. The living Sapa Inca sat among his ancestors at feasts, and important decisions were discussed in their presence. The temple was a house for the gods and a palace for the dead.

Inti Raymi

At the June solstice, when the sun reached its greatest distance from the earth, the Sapa Inca and the highest nobility gathered at dawn. Sacred fire was kindled using a concave golden mirror that focused Inti's rays. Flame born directly from the god. This fire was distributed to relight hearths throughout Cusco. Hundreds of white llamas were sacrificed, and nine days of feasting and procession followed.

No day passed without offerings at the Coricancha. No sunrise went ungreeted.

The Stripping of Gold

When Pizarro's forces entered Cusco in November 1533, they seized the golden plates from the walls, the golden garden, the images of the gods. Pedro Cieza de León recorded the sums. The gold was melted down and divided among the conquistadors.

The Punchao was initially seized but recovered by Inca resistance forces and carried to the neo-Inca state at Vilcabamba. It remained there until the final Spanish conquest in 1572, when it was sent to Philip II of Spain. It disappeared from the record.

The Dominicans built their church directly atop the Inca foundations. In 1950, an earthquake collapsed much of the colonial superstructure and revealed Inca stonework hidden for four centuries underneath. The walls endure.