What is Aramu Muru – The Legend of the Golden Disk – The rumors among the locals – can a Portal like this actually exist? – String Theory and multidimensional Universe – How you can find and explore Aramu Muru by yourself.

There are a lot of strange and mysterious places on the shores of the Lake Titicaca. It’s not surprising: the ancient cities of Tiwanaku and Puma Punku, located nearby, are said to have been the first settlements of the gods in this area. Now the region is teaming with wonders. One of them is Aramu Muru, also called Puerta de Hayu Marca, Willka Uta and the Gate of the Gods.

What is Aramu Muru:

Aramu Muru is a structure, carved into a face of a granite rock. The shape resembles a gate or a façade of a building. The size of the Gate is about 7 meters wide and 7 meters high. On the bottom of the structure there is a T-shaped opening, roughly 6 feet high, where an adult person could easily fit. On the back wall of the opening, in the middle, you can see a strange circular depression, somewhat of a “keyhole”.

The Gate of the Gods

The door or the Portal

The circular depression in the middle

One of the columns of Aramu Muru

The Gate of the Gods was discovered in 1996 by a tour guide Jose Luis Delgado Mamani, who was simply hiking in the area. Soon after the discovery, the place awoke interest of many archaeologists and researchers. However it is still surprisingly unknown among mainstream tourists, so there is a chance you’ll be there completely all by yourself!

The Legend of the Golden Disk

There were no organic materials found near the structure, so unfortunately it was impossible to properly date Puerta de Hayu Marca. However, the place is surrounded by many legends, the most known of which is the legend of Aramu Muru.

The legend talks about a priest of the Coricancha temple in Cusco, named Aramu Muru. He was fleeing from the Spanish invasion in 1533, trying to save the biggest treasure of the Inca – the Golden Disk.

Originally the Golden Disk came to the possession of a young Quechua man named Pachacutec. He was walking near a spring and saw something fall in the water. Some say it was a Golden Disk, some writers, like Father Bernabe Cobo, a Spanish Jesuit missionary, who collected many legends from the indigenous people, describe it as made of crystal:

He saw a crystal tablet… within this tablet there appeared to him the figure… Upon seeing this image, Pachacutec became so terrified that he started to flee, but the image spoke to him from inside the spring, saying to him: “Come here, my child; have no fear, for I am your father the Sun; I know that you will subjugate many nations and take great care to honor me and remember me in your sacrifices”; and, having said these words, the vision disappeared, but the crystal tablet remained in the spring. The Inca Pachacutec took the tablet and kept it; it is said that after this it served him as a mirror in which he saw anything he wanted and in memory of his vision, when he was king, he had a statue made of the Sun, which was none other than the image he had seen in the crystal, and he built a temple of the Sun called Qoricancha. READ MORE…

All these promises came true. Pachacutec won many battles, some of them miraculously (for example one battle was won with the god’s help: giant stones rose in the air and trampled the enemy army). Pachacutec became a great Emperor, who transformed the city of Cusco and built Machu Picchu. Even now, on the main square of Cusco, you can see his golden statue, and on his chest there is a Golden Disk.

The statue of Pachacutec in Cusco

After Pachacutec’s death, the magical device was kept in Qoricancha (or Coricancha in other transliterations) up until Aramu Muru escaped with it. Moving south and hiding in the mountains, he finally reached the Hayu Marca region. There, he met a group of Inca priests who were the guardians of the Gate of the Gods. During a ceremony, performed at the Gate, Aramu Muru placed the Golden Disk on the “keyhole” on the back side of the door. Unexpectedly, the Disk opened the Portal and Aramu Muru walked into it, never to be seen again. Since the original name of the Portal is unknown, based on this legend, it acquired the name of Aramu Muru.

This legend is further supported by the fact that no matter how the Spanish tried, they could never find the legendary Disk. It disappeared without a trace.

The Rumors Among the Locals

Before we saw Aramu Muru with our own eyes, we somehow thought that it was far in the mountains, away from civilization. This is not true. There are villages all around the legendary Gate. The surrounding vegetable fields are slowly creeping closer and closer.

I wish we had a chance to camp there overnight! I don’t know if there are any overnight guards and if one can actually pull it off. Tell me if you do! But there are many rumors among the locals that the place becomes active at night, even now. The villagers talk about strange lights around the Portal and tall shiny figures moving towards the Lake Titicaca. There have apparently been cases of strange disappearances through the years, including children. The local Quechua and Aymara are afraid of the Gate and don’t let their children near it.

The sacrificial stone

As it often happens, people worship what they fear. Every year, on winter solstice (in June), a great celebration is held. A shaman sacrifices a llama on a stone in front of the Gate, the locals drink, dance and pray. They believe, the Gate of the Gods is indeed a portal to a different dimension, a gateway to the spirit world and the realm of the gods.

And if you really think of it, it doesn’t sound too fantastic at all!

Can a Portal to Another Dimension Actually Exist?

So can it be that a portal to a different dimension can really exist? String Theory says it can.

The M-Theory, the latest version of the String Theory, has been developed and researched by the biggest names in the modern quantum physics (the late great Stephen Hawking being one of them). It states that the world is not made out of particles, but out of one-dimensional objects called strings. The strings spread through space and closely interact with each other. The theory so successfully explains black hole physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, gravity physics and other problems where conventional particle physics hits a dead end, that scientists call it “the Theory of Everything”. They refer to the fact that it describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter in one equation.

There is only one issue with the Theory of Everything: its mathematical presentation reveals an overwhelming result: our Universe consists of at least 11 dimensions: 10 space dimensions and 1 dimension of time.

Humans, of course, cannot detect the extra dimensions. Under normal circumstances we cannot see or feel them. It’s difficult to even comprehend them! The closest anything came to demonstrating another dimension is the so-called Tesseract, a 4-dimensional geometrical cube.

A 3D projection of a Tesseract, Public Domain

So, the most prominent physicists of our time do agree that our world is multidimensional. However, can one travel from one to the other? Electrons, for instance, can naturally jump dimensions. Perhaps, some other entities, who live in a 4, 5 or 6-dimensional worlds, can enter our world just as easily as we can navigate our familiar 3-dimensional space? Are the creatures that we perceive as ghosts and spirits simply inter-dimensional travelers? Some say even death is merely a trip to another dimension.

However, can humans travel like this? Under the right circumstances, where space-time bends in a certain way, I think, it’s quite possible. There are plenty of stories about rabbit holes, portals and wormholes all over the world and about people who claim to have visited a parallel universe.

It’s hard to tell, however, whether these stories are true or fake. Most of the times, in cases of an accidental inter-dimensional jump, such as in Aramu Muru’s case, no one’s ever come back to tell about it.

However, even Einstein believed that there may be portals leading to distant points in the Universe. He lived at a time when string theory was not yet developed, but even then, based on mathematics, the possibility of wormholes, or gates to otherwise unreachable points in space-time, were real. There is even a scientific term for that: Einstein-Rosen Bridge.

To easier visualize a wormhole, imagine a two-dimensional sheet of paper. Draw two points on it, each on the opposite end. Then fold the paper so that the two points are touching. Thus, bending a two-dimensional space-time makes these two seemingly distant points become very close together. Now, imagine dealing with 10 space dimensions. The possibilities increase exponentially!

The Energy of Aramu Muru

They say, the best way to feel the energy of Aramu Muru is to walk into the doorway, spread your arms and press your hands onto the opposite side walls. Then lean towards the back wall, touching the circular “keyhole” with your belly. Some say, after standing like this for a while, they achieve a connection and start seeing stars, columns of fire and hearing weird rhythmic music.

I didn’t hear anything, to be honest. All I could feel was the dampness and coldness of the silent stone and smell bird poop. There are a lot of birds nesting in the folds of the sacred door. Puerta de Hayu Marca didn’t open for me…

But even though I couldn’t connect to the otherworld, I must admit that the whole location definitely possesses strong spiritual energy. To me, it was not the Portal itself, but rather the whole place. I did feel that power a lot better as I quietly sat on a small stone in front of the Gate of the Gods. I sat like this for a long while. Rare tourists came and went. Some prayed. As time passed, I was thinking about the ancient myths, unknown history and so many secrets this world is still hiding from us.

Neighboring Hills

At the end of your visit, don’t leave without taking a walk around the neighboring hills. There are several hiking trails through the surrounding forest of red granite rock crests. They are really unusual and fairytale-like and form natural grottoes, arches, bridges and even sculptures! Hiking there might be quite challenging due to lots of ups and downs, but it’s utterly rewarding.

One of the hiking trails

Beautiful rock formations

How to Get To Aramu Muru:

If you are in Peru, you will probably be staying in Puno, which is the closest city (read about the best way to travel across Peru). There are plenty of tours, both shared and private, but I hear a lot of complaints that the tour guides don’t dedicate quite enough time to Aramu Muru.

I think, the best way to visit is by yourself, because you can be free to take your time and enjoy Aramu Muru as long as you’d like. To get there is easy: first you need to find the Terminal Zonal of Puno.

Here it is on the map:

The terminal is the departure point of all the regional colectivos (shared minibuses) going south. Just ask around for a colectivo passing through “Aramu Muru”. Show it on the map if the driver doesn’t understand. Finally you will locate the right car. The cost is a mere 5 soles.

Terminal Zonal of Puno

The highway and the gravel road leading to Aramu Muru

The location of Aramu Muru

Aramu Muru is situated along the Highway 3S, the same highway that runs to the Bolivian border. I was using the GPS on my phone to make sure we are on the right track. But if you don’t have GPS, just pay attention to the town signs. You will pass a rather big town called Ilave. Then, about 20 minutes later you pass a village called Santiago Mucho.

Right after, you will see some strange rock formations and a gravel road on the right hand side. That’s where the colectivo will stop to let you out. Follow the road and in about five minutes you will reach your destination. There are a couple of local ladies selling souvenirs and a small hut with a rather bored security guard. It costs 5 soles to enter.

Some Other Places That Are Considered Portals like Aramu Muru in the World:

The Gate of the Sun, Tiwanaku, Bolivia (only 100 km from Aramu Muru)

Markawasi Stone Forest, Peru

The Bermuda Triangle

Skinwalker Ranch, Utah

Sedona Vortexes, Arizona

The Abu Ghurab’s Pyramids, Egypt

Stonehendge, England

Pluto’s Gate at Hierapolis, Turkey

Casas Grandes, Mexico (the gates are shaped exactly the same as the Aramu Muru doorway)

On top of Aramu Muru you can see a piece of the Lake Titicaca

So, what is your opinion about the Portal of Aramu Muru? How do you think one can open it and where do you think it leads? Do you know of any other portals that are not mentioned here? Share in the comments or in our Facebook Group!

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