View From The Temple Of The Moon - Cuzco - Peru (path To The Sacred Valley) Editorial Image

When the Spanish arrived in Cusco they broke the head of the stone sculpture of two condors that protected the gold in the hole below the heads as a religious offering. Nowadays you can still leave offerings in the hole, but without the condors' heads. The stone also has other animals from the Inca trilogy, the snake and the puma, which represent wisdom and strength.Inside the temple, even today, black llamas are sacrificed to bring positive energy during the celebration of Inti raymi, an Inca religious festival in honor of Inti, the sun god.A part of the temple is so sacred that tourists are prohibited from entering it.