The Pyramids of Cahuachi
Cahuachi is the ceremonial center of the Nasca culture in Peru. It is located 25 km away from the city.
Cahuachi was built of adobe around A.D. 500, during the height of the Nasca culture. The main pyramid and several nearby are now accessible.
One of the most famous structures of Cahuachi is the Great Temple. It is a multistage pyramid of more than twenty meters in height. The Great Temple is located on top of a huge hill and is surrounded by a high stone wall. Around this colossal structure are several other buildings and squares which are enclosed by stone walls.
Besides, more than 20 more yet unexcavated pyramids are hidden in the sands. Despite the huge area and the importance of the structures, no large number of people have ever lived here.
Archaeologists and historians have proven that Cahuachi was not a city, but only a temple center of 25 square kilometers. The area is not so large that people could live there permanently. In other words, apparently, no one lived there. But why were there forty pyramids in this small area, and what their purpose is still a mystery?
The researcher Orefichi discovered that the priests flocked to Cahuachi from all over the country and ate food specially brought to them from afar by pilgrims. When the pilgrims brought food with them, they exchanged it for all kinds of amulets and the priests’ blessings.
Are the local pyramids and the Nazca lines connected? Some scholars believe that this is where the orders and commands to create giant images in the Nazca Desert came from. Geoglyphs were drawn on the ground in the form of huge figures of various animals, which were not found in those areas, such as monkeys, orcas, and seals.
There are many legends and rumors that there is miraculous healing of totally hopelessly ill people, as some inexplicable powerful energy comes from the pyramids. Therefore, people who have been here at least once are attracted to this mysterious place, the pyramids of Cahauchi.
At present, most of Cahuachi’s tombs are still unknown, so researchers have more work to do.
