Museo Templo del Sol Pintor Cristobal Ortega Maila
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Very interesting museum that is a work of art itself, feels like entering an ancient temple. Admission is $4 for locals, $6 for gringos. Parking is $1 (shared parking lot with volcano hiking and several gift shops). It was definitely a bit of a money-making enterprise. Don't take the demonstrations too seriously, it's a sales pitch, but still fun. Cristobal Ortega Maila was an extremely prolific and talented artist who worked with many kinds of media, from painting in different styles to sculpture to architecture, much of it rooted in ancient local cultures and traditions, and it is all showcased here. But more than just the art, there is also a presentation (in Spanish) that begins at the top of the tower, describing ancient natural herbal medicine (with samples!), then moving downstairs to explore the design of the building (like many ancient temples would have been) as a way to keep track of the movements of the sun throughout the year, and also of course to pay homage to the sun god Init. The presentation ended in the gift shop with a relaxing aromatherapy session with musical instruments to simulate the sounds of Nature while breathing different scents. All the products demonstrated were available for sale.
Elysia ReedElysia Reed
20
You would think the museum’s structure has been there an eternity, but this isn’t the case. The museum is a construction thought of by painter/sculptor Cristóbal Ortega Maila. It was inspired by pre-Columbian edifices and is about 500 square metres. The structure is quite impressive and made completely out of Andean stone. All guides are indigenous and take you on a wonderful 1-hour extrasensory tour through the spiral. Most weekends you can find the artist painting on the premises and he’s always more than happy to take pictures with the tourists. You can purchase all kinds of artefacts, jewellery and essential oils at the Templo del Sol at affordable prices. Entrance fee is $3. The guided tours start at 10 a.m.
C. C.C. C.
30
The outside is this place was cool with all of its statues and replicas of ancient Andean art. Once inside on a tour, it becomes a marketing presentation for essential oils and minerals. Since we didn't speak a lot of Spanish, the tour became a bit slow during the demonstrations and meditations. The audience was then expected to buy some of the goods before continuing. Then the tour finished with a gallery of artwork, which was good art and interesting. But this is not, by any means, an ancient site, ruin, or even museum of ancient culture. It's a modern marketing tool for new age products, which is fine, if that's what you're looking for. The surroundings are worth a visit.
Todd DurrantTodd Durrant
30
It's definitely not a museum. We had to pay 6$ (!!) for the entry only to enter a sale store in very nice and exciting exterior and interior. Inside we were shown a two nice experiments then the rushed sales tour started. I really liked the explanation about essential oils, but for this I don't go into a 'museum'. The 2. and 3. floor are art galleries, here again for sale as well. Outside a room to buy some other stuff (coca tea, marijuana oil,...) In total I was disappointed. This is definitely not a historical site, it is made to look like it, not more. A look from the outside of the building is enough.
Simone Le MoneSimone Le Mone
80
We visited museo del sol by chance. This was a wonderful experience. The museum has free entrance and offers a historic tour. They tell you about the indigenous people who lived close to the equator and how they used the sun. After this part they talker about the powers of the Kade stone to align our Chakra, and the power of aroma therapy. A sensational experience. After we went into the museum to admire different works of the artist Ortega Maila, who is also the architect of the temple. The tour finishes with a taste of te de coca. You have the possibility to buy several items during the tour.
Darby de BiesDarby de Bies
10
Really interesting place, worth to go. The entrance was 4$. Inside you can buy aromatic oiles, coca leaves, mineral stones and well - painting of master Ortega. We went during weekend and Ortega was there, we could speak to him and he painted a piece of art with fingers in 3 minutes, just in front of us. The only thing I missed was passion of guides, they were reciting monologues by heart, and there was no time for asking questions and we had a lot of them because the tour was full of amazing experiments.
Milena MnichMilena Mnich
00
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