Tiwanaku monoliths: where to see each one

The three monoliths

People searching for the tres monolitos usually mean Ponce, Bennett and Fraile. The Bennett Monolith is the largest known human-carved monolith in the Andes. It is made of reddish sandstone and weighs around 20 tonnes. The Ponce Monolith is the second largest at the site. The official site names the Ponce and Fraile monoliths as standing in the Kalasasaya. Tiwanaku has other carved stones, such as the basalt chachapuma in the Lithic Museum, but these three are the ones guides and visitors name. The Tiwanaku civilisation left no written language, so what the figures meant is inferred from the carvings, not read from texts.

The Ponce Monolith

The Ponce Monolith, also called the Ponce Stela, stands in the Kalasasaya. It holds a qiru, a drinking vessel, in its left hand and a snuff tray in its right. Spaniards found it first, carved a cross on its shoulder and left it buried. It is named after the Bolivian archaeologist Carlos Ponce Sanginés, whose team exhumed it in 1957. It also appears on the back of Bolivia's 200 boliviano note, issued in 2019, which shows the Kalasasaya with the monolith in view.

The Bennett Monolith

The American archaeologist Wendell Bennett dug it out of the Semi-Subterranean Temple in 1932, and it was first called Stela 10. It was later moved to a plaza in La Paz and then returned to Tiwanaku, where it is now in the site museum near where it was found. The official site lists it among the major sculptures of the Lithic Museum and also calls it the bearded monolith. It was possibly spotted earlier, in 1903, by a French scientific mission. Seeing it indoors is the best way to read its carved surface up close.

The Fraile monolith

The Fraile monolith also stands in the Kalasasaya, beside the Ponce Monolith. Fraile is Spanish for friar. The Kalasasaya walls around it are largely reconstructed, so it stands inside rebuilt walls. The name is a later nickname, not something the Tiwanaku carvers used, and the civilisation left no writing to tell us what they called it. Published sizes and descriptions of the Fraile vary from source to source, so treat any exact figure you hear with care and ask your guide what they base it on.

What the carvings show, and what is guesswork

Tiwanaku stone figures share an iconography that researchers call the Southern Andean Iconographic Series. The same imagery appears on stone sculpture, qirus and snuff trays. The central figure on the Gateway of the Sun is shown in the Staff God pose. Some scholars link it to Viracocha and others to the weather god Thunupa, and nobody can settle it. A calendar reading of the gate's carvings is a popular idea, but there is no definitive evidence for it. The same imagery shows up at sites of the Wari culture, which suggests shared beliefs or contact, whether through trade or force.

The Gateway of the Sun

The Gateway of the Sun is the monument most visitors photograph. It is carved from a single block of andesite, about 3 m high and 4 m wide, with carving on both sides. The official site gives its weight as over 10 tonnes. When European explorers reached it in the 19th century it was lying horizontally with a large crack through it, and researchers think it was moved from its original spot. The frieze shows the central figure with 48 smaller figures, often called attendants, running towards it.

Read next: The Gate of the Sun: Tiwanaku's Carved Doorway Explained

Where each one is

Use this as a map for the day. The monoliths are spread across the open site and the museums, so your route decides which you see first. The official site's pages place them as follows, and your guide may add stops or change the order for your group. The Lithic Museum's sculptures are carved from andesite, basalt, sandstone, diorite and other stones:

• Kalasasaya: the Gateway of the Sun, and the Ponce and Fraile monoliths
• Lithic Museum: the Bennett Monolith and the basalt chachapuma
• Ceramic Museum: pottery in time order, from earlier cultures to Tiwanaku
• Semi-subterranean temple: 175 carved heads, where the Bennett was found

Read next: Tiwanaku's Museums and Puma Punku: What to See on Site

Puma Punku, the other half of the day

Puma Punku is a terraced platform apart from the main group, faced with blocks of red sandstone and andesite. Most of the monumental complex that once stood on top has gone. Its largest slab is estimated at 131 tonnes, and the blocks lie scattered because of looting, stone quarrying and weathering over the centuries. A radiocarbon date puts the start of building after about AD 536. Claims about lost technology or alien builders are pseudoscience; archaeologists attribute the work to the people of the Titicaca basin. Expect rough ground and distance between stops.

Time, pace and the altitude

The guided tour from La Paz takes 7 to 8 hours, and the museums and Kalasasaya come first, then lunch, then Puma Punku, so plan to spend the whole day on the move. Tiwanaku sits at about 3,800 metres, so stairs and slopes tire you faster than at sea level. Altitude sickness often starts within 10 hours of ascent and usually eases within two days. Avoid strenuous effort and alcohol for the first day or two at altitude and drink fluids. If symptoms are severe, going down to lower ground is the only reliable treatment.

Dress, photos, children and language

Bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and a jacket, plus cash, because the site accepts cash only. Photography inside is listed as not allowed on the guided tour, so ask your guide whether that covers the museum hall before you raise your camera. The guided tour is not suitable for people with mobility impairments. No age limit is stated for it, so check with the provider before you book if you travel with young children. The guide speaks Spanish and English, and a private group is available. A health centre is listed in the town of Tiwanaku.

Who this isn't for

If you want to linger over every carving, a 7 to 8 hour group schedule that fits in museums, lunch and Puma Punku may feel short, so ask about a private group. If you came to hear about a lost super-technology, expect your guide to disagree, because those claims are pseudoscience. If you cannot manage altitude or a long day outdoors, think twice. And if all you want is one photo of the Gateway of the Sun, a full tour is more than you need.