Huayna Picchu, Peru

Name :  Huayna Picchu

Location :

It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District. It rises over Machu Picchu, the so-called lost city of the Incas, and divides it into sections. The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu and built temples and terraces on its top. The peak of Huayna Picchu is about 2,720 metres (8,920 ft) above sea level, or about 360 metres (1,180 ft) higher than Machu Picchu.

Description :

Huayna Picchu, Wayna Picchu (Hispanicized spellings) or Wayna Pikchu (Quechua wayna young, young man, pikchu pyramid, mountain or prominence with a broad base which ends in sharp peaks, "young peak") is a mountain in Peru around which the Urubamba River bends.

According to local guides, the top of the mountain was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins. Every morning before sunrise, the high priest with a small group would walk to Machu Picchu to signal the coming of the new day. The Temple of the Moon, one of the three major temples in the Machu Picchu area, is nestled on the side of the mountain and is situated at an elevation lower than Machu Picchu. Adjacent to the Temple of the Moon is the Great Cavern, another sacred temple with fine masonry. The other major local temples in Machu Picchu are the Temple of the Condor, Temple of Three Windows, Principal Temple, "Unfinished Temple", and the Temple of the Sun, also called the Torreon

Tourism :

The number of daily visitors allowed to enter Huayna Picchu is restricted to 400. Advance purchase of tickets online will guarantee admission. A steep and at times exposed climb leads to the summit. Some portions are slippery and steel cables (a via ferrata) provide some support during the one-hour climb. At times during the rainy season, the tours are closed. The climb is not recommended for visitors in poor physical condition because it features the World's scariest staircase.

From the summit, a second trail leads down to the Gran Caverna and the Temple of the Moon (a misnomer). These natural caves, on the north face of the mountain, are lower than the starting point of the trail. The return path from the caves completes a loop around the mountain as it rejoins the main trail.

Websites :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huayna_Picchu

Shree Chandreshwar Bhootnath Temple, Goa.

Name : Shree Chandreshwar Bhootnath Temple, Goa.

Location :

The ancient Chandreshwar Temple also known as the Chandranath Temple and is situated on the road to Quepem, about 14 km from Margao. It is located on the Chandranath parvat, a heavily wooded hill on Paroda Parvat.

History :

According to an ancient Sanskrit inscription, a temple has stood on this magical spot for nearly 2500 years. However, the present building, dedicated to Shiva, is comparatively modern, dating from the late 1600s. The only part of the shrine that is definitely a vestige of the Vedic age is its cavernous inner sanctum, hollowed from a hug back bolder, around which the site's seventeenth-century custodians erected a typically Goan-style structure, capped with a red-tile room and domed sanctuary tower.

The temple is associated with the Bhoja dynasty who were the rulers of the region till the 8th century. Also from the Bhoja's family deity, Lord Chandreshwar the name of their capital Chandrapur (today's Chandor) was derived.

Description :



One can reach the Chandreshwar temple by the granite stone steps from the hill's base or by a drive up over a metal led road. The temple situated 350 meters above Chandranath Hill. It can be reached by climbing the huge granite steps. The main approach to the temple is metalled road and you have to enter the temple by alighting these granite steps. The whole place is strangely infested by small rock crabs.

Pilgrims arrive the main entrance for darshan, or the ritual viewing of the God. A wild-eyed golden Chandreshwar deity, Shiva as "Lord of Moon", stares out from an ornately decorated sanctum, wrapped in brocaded silk.

The presiding deity of the temple is Shri Bhutnath or Chandreshwar whom the Bhoja kings regarded as the titular deity. The Bhoja kings ruled South Goa before the Christian till the middle of 8th century. And in fact they named their capital Chandrapur after the deity.



In the Shri Chandranath Temple At Quepem in Goa , you will find the Shiva Linga carved out from the rock. The surprising and most amazing fact is that on full moon night, water oozes out from the Shiva Linga whenever moon light falls on it and temple is so designed that Shiva Linga receives moonlight on every full moon. Scientists suggest a meteorite fell on Chandranath Mountain during the pre-historic period.

Bhootnath :

Next door, a smaller temple is dedicated to Chandreshwar's attendant deity, Bhootnath who is the lord of ghosts. The temple's ancient chariot is well known for its wood carvings. The tree temple chariots are housed by a corner building. A palanquin procession of the deity is held every Monday evening wherein food is offered to the devotees.

Festivals :

The main festival here is the five-day Hanuman Jayanti, along with Dushera and Mahashivratri.

Parvathi and elephant-headed Ganesh respectively, sculpted in stone - are housed in small niches to rear of the shrine. The circumambulatory passage, which has to be walked around in clockwise direction, hugs the base of the boulder that forms the temple's heart A small Nandi Bull lies among there from which the view west out to sea and south across the Assolna estuary to the Cabo Da Rama headland can be seen.



Websites :

http://www.goaholidayhomes.com/info/220/chandreshwar-temple-near-paroda/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv8cObq3iKM

http://ddmtravel.com/1_26_Temples.html