If you’re planning a trip to Peru and trying to come up with your itinerary, stargazing in Cusco is something you should definitely consider. The Andean sky is incredible and full of so many stars. It’s often clear and you can get a great view.
There are lots of places to go in Peru to observe the night’s sky, but Cusco is one of, if not the best. The Incas were great believers in everything natural, one of those being astrology. Cusco was actually built using the patterns from the stars in the beginning, so in a similar form.
Astronomy Inca
As mentioned before, astronomy was very important in the ancient culture. Just as Machu Picchu was based on the sun, Cusco is formed by the stars. There were many Inca symbols and constellations, including Urcuchillay (the llama) and Mach’acuay (the serpent). These were both very important animals in the civilization.
There were two ways that the Incas arranged the constellations. The first was like we see many today, which is by joining the dots to make animals, important figures, and more. These groupings were very important to them and one, Pleiades, was often offered frequent sacrifices by shamans.
The second way is something we aren’t so familiar with. For this, you would need a completely clear sky with no stars. Something we don’t really see now. They would observe the dark patches in the sky and considered them to be living animals. The Incas believed the Milky Way to be a river and that these animals lived in it. Not many other civilizations were able to locate constellations without stars.
Due to their strong observations of the sky, an Incan calendar was formed that consisted of 12 months. Each month was 30 days long and had 3 weeks of 10 days each.
Everything is Connected
The Incas had a great belief in the sky, as the sun and moon were Gods to them. The fact they worshipped the stars as well and built the city of Cusco based upon them shows that they believed everything surrounding them was connected in a way.
The sky and the stars had a huge impact on how they went about their daily lives. Many archaeologists now think that Machu Picchu may have been an astronomical observatory, amongst other things.
There is still a lot to be uncovered regarding how they used the stars and to what extent they were influenced by them, as well as learning new Inca names for their constellations. However, we can tell that they had an important meaning to this ancient civilization and greatly affected agriculture and other important parts of their lives.
Stargazing In and Around Cusco
There are a number of places to go in Cusco to get a great view and observe the Andean night’s sky to the fullest. There is a family-run planetarium that offers tours and explanations regarding the constellations and some history surrounding the Incas.
Tours through the mountains also exist, which gets you out in the middle of the hills with nothing blocking your view. Here you will get the most spectacular view and be able to pinpoint some of the more well-known groups of stars. These tours will lead you to Machu Picchu, so it’s the perfect way to stargaze and visit one of the Seven Wonders during your Peru vacations.
Organize Your Astronomical Tour Now
If this sounds like something you would love to learn more about, you can book a personalized package through us on specific dates to experience for yourself all that this wonderful sky has to offer and to see why it was so important to the Incas.