Cojines del Zaque

Muisca astronomical-ritual stones at the pre-colonial heart of Hunza

The Cojines del Zaque are two large rounded stone slabs sitting on a small hill in the northern part of central Tunja, set in a small park. They are one of the few visible remnants of Hunza, the Muisca capital that stood here before the Spanish founded the city. Muisca astronomers used the stones to observe the sun and stars, marking solstice positions and other astronomical events on the rock surfaces.

The site is small but worth a brief stop for the context it gives the colonial city around it. There are interpretive panels in Spanish and the views down across the rooftops are good. Combine it with a walk over to the Hunzahúa Well, also a pre-colonial Muisca site, just a few blocks away.

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A story
The two large stone "cushions" gave the site its name — the Spanish word cojines meaning a pillow or cushion — and were used by Muisca priests to chart astronomical observations. The Zaque, the second-most-powerful ruler in the Muisca confederation, governed from this very hill before the Spanish destroyed the original temples and built their colonial city on top.

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