Who needs Stonehenge? Five more sun temples for celebrating the summer solstice
Perhaps the Beatles put it best on 'Abbey Road' track Here Comes The Sun, with its talk of “the smiles returning to the faces” and how “it feels like years since it's been here”. There is, it goes without saying, something about a burst of sunlight which sings to the soul; which triggers a happiness that pre-dates religion – delving into a more primeval instinct.
Not that George Harrison was the first person to notice this. Nor, indeed, the last. As today, the longest day of the year, has demonstrated – with thousands of early-alarm-setters gathering at Stonehenge to witness the summer-solstice sunrise – our solar helper remains a cause for wonder.
Nor is Wiltshire's prehistoric marvel (see below) the only monument where our source of heat and light is – or has been – a subject of ongoing ritual. The following landmarks are also places where you might look to the skies in awe.
1. Stonehenge
Where: Near Amesbury, Wiltshire
When was it built? Some time between 3000BC and 2000BC, probably.
What is it? An excellent question. The UK's most renowned prehistoric monument has been a matter of endless theorising about its construction and purpose. Was it a burial ground? A place of healing? A site used for tribal rituals? And how was it created in an era when the wheel may have existed – but the crane and the winch did not. Of course, these riddles only amplify the landmark's air of mystery. It is, perhaps, the symbol of a Britain prior to written record – those standing stones casting shadows on Salisbury Plain.
Solar specifications: The site is, of course, a fabled gathering point on the longest day ofthe year. The stones' horseshoe arrangement means that the central avenue is aligned withsunrise on the summer solstice – and sunset on its chilly winter counterpart. In 2003, when the summer solstice fell on a weekend, Stonehenge attracted a record 30,000 people.
How to see it: Details galore at english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge.
2. Newgrange
Where: Just outside Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland
When was it built? Some time around 3200BC.
What is it? According to the (British) archaeologist Colin Renfrew, a neolithic miracle which is “unhesitatingly regarded by the prehistorian as the great national monument of Ireland”. This is no idle boast. Older than Stonehenge, Newgrange rises from the dewy turf on the north shore of the River Boyne, lifting its head as a low mound framed by a circular retaining wall. If that makes it sound like a drab pile of soil, consider that, like the Pyramids (which it also pre-dates), Newgrange is riddled with passageways and inner chambers, while some of the stones which hold it aloft are decorated with megalithic art.
Solar specifications: The landmark spurns the easy adulation of the summer solstice and keeps an eternal deal with the winter version. Its entrance is placed so that the rays of the rising sun pierce a “roofbox”, and infiltrate an inner room on the shortest day of the year.
How to see it: Plenty of information at newgrange.com.
3. The Coricancha
Where: Cusco, Peru
When was it built? In the 13th century, on the orders of the Inca emperor Manco Capac.
What is it? A masterpiece of engineering which thumbs a graceful nose at the Spanish conquistadors who overran the Inca empire in the 16th century. The incoming Europeans pulled down a large part of what was the sun temple in the imperial capital, but recycled some of its structure when they piled the church of Santo Domingo around it. They reckoned, however, without the shuddering might of the average Andean earthquake. Various ground-rending tremors over the subsequent centuries have slowly pulled away the Spanish masonry to reveal the original Inca walls, designed using intricate interlockedstones, and able to withstand the worst that the planet's seismic temper can throw at them.
Solar specifications: The Coricancha was dedicated to Inti, the Inca sun god (and the patron deity of the empire). The summer solstice was an inevitable cause for ritual and worship – in particular a procession from what is now the Plaza de Armas to the temple's interior “sun room”. According to contemporary descriptions, the building also looked the part. Its walls were covered in sheets of gold – which were stripped after the invasion.
How to see it: Journey Latin America (020 3131 7959; journeylatinamerica.co.uk) proffers a 15-day “Empires of Peru: Kuelap and Machu Picchu” private tour which spends three days in Cusco. From ￡2,532 per person – not including international flights.
4. Pyramid of the Sun
Where: Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, Mexico
When was it built? Hard to say exactly. This colossal archaeological site – which lurks some 25 miles north-east of the Mexican capital – is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a remnant of the Aztec era. In fact, it pre-dates Mexico's best-known warrior civilisation, perhaps by more than a millennium. The area was inhabited from around 300BC onwards– and the city had already run its course by the time the Aztecs rose to prominence (at the start of the 14th century). Nonetheless, it boasted – and still boasts – a remarkable Pyramid of the Sun, as well as a Pyramid of the Moon which acts as a noble counterpoint. What is it? The Pyramid of the Sun is Teotihuacan's largest structure, dating from around 200AD (meaning that it is roughly a century or so younger than the Colosseum in Rome).
Solar specifications: It faces the Pyramid of the Moon down the “Avenue of the Dead”. Theories suggest it was devoted to a solar deity, with an altar on top. But all descriptions of the site are posthumous – and despite its giant size (it soars to a height of 738ft/225m, and is the planet's third largest pyramid), little is known about it with any historical certainty. Indeed, even its name – given to it by the Aztecs after the event – is guesswork.
How to see it: Last Frontiers (01296 653 000; lastfrontiers.com) sells a 14-day “Western Mexico” tour which dashes to Teotihuacan from Mexico City (while also lying on the beach at La Paz on the Baja California peninsula). From ￡5,460 a head – including flights.
5. El Castillo
Where: Chichen Itza, Yucatan State, Mexico
When was it built? Between the ninth and 12th centuries.
What is it? A vast step-pyramid which stands as the centrepiece of the most famous Mayan site. Chichen Itza was still a working city when the Spanish arrived in 1527. The soldiers who battled their way across the Yucatan Peninsula would have laid eyes on the full majesty of what was the Temple of Kukulcan – and they must have been impressed, as the nickname “El Castillo” (“The Castle”) has since become common parlance. While the structure is generally surrounded by hordes of tourists on day-trips from the beach hotels of Cancun, it still astounds in both size and significance – towering to 79ft (24m).
Solar specifications: Kukulcan was the Mayan snake god rather than an explicitly solar figure – but the pyramid still plays a game with the sunlight. During the spring and autumn equinoxes, the rays of the late afternoon hit the north-west corner of the structure at an angle which creates a dramatic illusion – a shadow which suggests a feathered serpent slipping down the steps. Whether this is an effect that was deliberately planned by the builders, or just an evocative coincidence, is an ongoing bone of academic conjecture.
How to see it: Llama Travel (020 7263 3000; llamatravel.com) includes Chichen Itza on the 14-day version of its “A Passage Through Mexico” itinerary (which also spends three days on the beaches of the Riviera Maya). From ￡2,249 a head; international flights extra.
6. Temple of the Sun
Where: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA
When was it built? It wasn't. Mother Nature was responsible.
What is it? A pure slab of pink entrada sandstone, which sits in the remote “Cathedral Valley”, in the north of Capitol Reef National Park (nps.gov/care), in central Utah. You need a reasonably sturdy vehicle to reach it along bumpy unpaved roads, but the reward is a dramatic series of monoliths which catch the sun – as well as visitors' gazes. The Temple of the Sun rears like a jagged piece of broken glass that has been wedged into theAmerican dirt – and while it cannot compete on fame with the feted formations of its more celebrated state colleague Monument Valley, it still claims a certain sharp grandeur.
Solar specifications: It takes its name from its proximity to a smaller but otherwise nearly identical fragment of rock, which, inevitably, is known as the Temple of the Moon.
How to see it: Capitol Reef is a key stop on the “Stunning Utah National Parks” road tripsold by America As You Like It (020 8742 8299; americaasyoulikeit.com). This 14-night odyssey also ticks off Bryce Canyon, Zion and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as Monument Valley. From ￡1,111 a head including hotels, car hire and international flights.