What is Marcahuasi?

Marcahuasi Stone Monuments, a Human Creation?

Marcahuasi, one of the seven marvels of Peru, is a plateau in the central Andes that is known for its enormous stone sculptures. These Peruvian rock formations are part of what so far has been an inexplicable stone forest; however, current research is working to change that.

Peru’s famous stone monuments at Marcahuasi, which contain dozens of megaliths and mysterious monuments depicting a variety of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, like faces, helmets, llamas and shoes, have been generally accepted to be the result of human work. But, until now, no one has presented convincing evidence to support this belief.

Of all the Peru monuments, Marcahuasi definitely has one of the most compelling stories, with so much yet to be learned.

Studying the Mysterious Stone Monuments of Marcahuasi, Peru

Several individuals have shown a serious interest in Marcahuasi, such as Kathy Doore, Peter Schneider and Robert Schoch, but no testable hypothesis has been proposed as to the meaning of the structures.

Generally the plateau is admired as an artistic venue or for its undoubtedly impressive natural setting, as is the case of our friend Sandro Sandoval who maintains the site www.marcahuasi.com.

The plateau was discovered by Daniel Ruzo de los Heros in 1953. At this site we also find ruins of Inca structures such as army barracks and funerary chulpas.

Dr. Luis Octavio Ruzo, director of the Association for the Study of Traditional Arts and Sciences (ECYART) based in Lima, Peru, has continued this work since 2010. The goal of his Marcahuasi research project is to develop data that may support the hypothesis that these structures are the creation of an ancient Andean culture.

Learn more about the location or history of Marcahuasi.

Read our FAQs here.

If you’re interested in being a part of the Marcahuasi research, please reach out.