Machu Picchu - World's Most Renowned Acient City - An Icon discovered

Machu Picchu is one of the world's most renowned ancient cities. It is located in the middle of a tropical mountain forest above the Urubamba Valley in the Cusco Region of Peru. Machu Picchu stands 2,430 meters above sea-level in an extraordinarily beautiful setting.

Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti in the middle of the 15th century. It was said to have been inhabited for around 100 years before it became uninhabited. Often referred to as the "City of the Incas" it remained uncovered for over three centuries. It was finally rediscovered by Hiriam Bingham, a Yale lecturer in July 1911.

Machu Picchu is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. It was perhaps the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height. The giant walls, terraces and ramp of Machu Picchu seem to have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments.

Machu Picchu is Peru's most famous tourist attraction. The place attracts more than 500,000 foreign visitors a year and a large tourist industry with hotels and travel agencies has grown around it.

 

Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Peru, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders, whose civilization was virtually wiped out by Spanish invaders in the 16th century. For hundreds of years, until the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911, the abandoned citadel’s existence was a secret known only to peasants living in the region. The site stretches over an impressive 5-mile distance, featuring more than 3,000 stone steps that link its many different levels. Today, hundreds of thousands of people tramp through Machu Picchu every year, braving crowds and landslides to see the sun set over its towering stone monuments and marvel at the mysterious splendor of one of the world’s most famous manmade wonders.

 

In the midst of a tropical mountain forest on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu’s walls, terraces, stairways and ramps blend seamlessly into its natural setting. The site’s finely crafted stonework, terraced fields and sophisticated irrigation system bear witness to the Inca civilization’s architectural, agricultural and engineering prowess. Its central buildings are prime examples of a masonry technique mastered by the Incas in which stones were cut to fit together without mortar.
Archaeologists have identified several distinct sectors that together comprise the city, including a farming zone, a residential neighborhood, a royal district and a sacred area. Machu Picchu’s most distinct and famous structures include the Temple of the Sun and the Intihuatana stone, a sculpted granite rock that is believed to have functioned as a solar clock or calendar.

 

Regardless of whether you have an interest in history or not, it can make you stop and stare in sheer awe.