Which UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bolivia preserves an ancient planned city built by the Tiwanaku culture?

The UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bolivia preserving an ancient planned city built by the Tiwanaku culture is Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture.

Tiwanaku lies near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca on the high Andean altiplano. It was the capital and ceremonial centre of a powerful civilization that influenced a large area of the central Andes before the rise of the Inca Empire.

The archaeological complex includes monumental platforms, temples, sunken courts, carved stone gateways, and finely shaped masonry. The Akapana pyramid and Kalasasaya enclosure are among its best-known structures. The Gateway of the Sun is especially famous for its relief of a central deity surrounded by winged figures.

The city’s major expansion occurred during the first millennium CE, and its influence extended through trade, religious ideas, and political connections. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2000. Tiwanaku is not an Inca ruin: it predates the Inca state by centuries and represents a distinct Andean cultural tradition.