MACHUPICCHU, THE LOST CITY OF THE INCAS

 This wonder of Inca engineering is undoubtedly the greatest legacy of this great civilization to humanity given its beautiful architecture that was built in perfect harmony with its landscape surroundings. It was commissioned by the Inca Pachacutec between the 14th and 15th centuries AD. It is believed to have been an occasional residence of Pachacutec, the ninth ruler of the Incas to come to power. Machu Picchu, like many important cities, also had a sanctuary, a sacred place for ceremonies and rituals. In the 15th century, this city was abandoned by its inhabitants and it remains a mystery to this day... why did they abandon it? The truth is that Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.

To go to Machu Picchu we have to get to Cusco and then from there travel to the picturesque town of Ollantaytambo 72 kilometers from Cusco (2 hours) in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, there is the train station where we must board the train that will take us to the town of Aguas Calientes. This is a beautiful trip that allows us to transport ourselves from the Andes to the Amazon jungle crossing incredible landscapes on a journey of 30.5 kilometers (1.5 hours) Machu Picchu in Quechua means "old mountain" is located 80 kilometers from Cusco at an altitude of 2,430 meters above sea level.

 

 

The citadel is 530 meters long by 200 meters wide, has 172 buildings in the urban area, Machupicchu is located in an intangible zone protected by the Peruvian state called by law HISTORICAL SANCTUARY OF MACHUPICHU covering a total area of ​​32,592 hectares (325..92 km square) in the basin of the Vilcanota river and is habitat of a series of birds, mammals in danger of extinction such as: cock-of-the-rock, spectacled bears, deer etc. The average temperature given its geographical location in the eastern Andes is 24 ° C having a warm dry climate almost all year round.

With respect to the population that inhabited Machu Picchu, it is believed that it had a mobile population of between 300 and 1,000 inhabitants belonging to the Inca elite at the death of the Inca Pachacutec and according to the traditions of the time all the properties of the sovereign came to be administered by his PANACA direct relatives, presumably the decline of Machu Picchu was due to the fact that a road was made to join Cusco - Ollantaytambo with another ceremonial and strategic center in Vilcabamba which meant that this route was less traveled thus gradually beginning the decline of this majestic citadel.

About its discovery it is said that it was the Cusco native Agustín Lizarraga one of the first visitors who arrived at this place on July 14, 1902 but nevertheless history had reserved that honor for the professor of history of the United States HIRAM BINGHAM who discovered this wonder for the world on July 24, 1911 who to his surprise found that in this place lived 2 local families the Alvarez and the Richarte who cultivated in the terraces of the south of this citadel and used an ancient canal to irrigate their crops and took water from a nearby spring and that one of the young children of these families named Pablo Alvarez the one who guided Hiram Bingham to the urban area of ​​​​Machu Picchu.

 Machu Picchu is made up of these sectors: THE AGRICULTURAL ZONE, made up of the terraces that served as farming areas for the city's inhabitants, where they grew various crops for their consumption. THE URBAN ZONE: A 400-meter-long wall divides the agricultural zone from the urban zone, which was entered through a well-controlled gate. The urban zone, in turn, is divided into two sectors. THE UPPER SECTOR, where the following stand out: the Temple of the Sun, a tower for astronomical purposes with fine finishes, the royal residence, the sacred plaza, and the INIHUATANA, a temple atop a pyramid-shaped hill. At the top and surrounded by ceremonial buildings, lies the sacred stone of Intihuatana, which the Incas called "the place where the Sun is tied." A place perfectly aligned with some astronomical events and surrounding mountains where other ceremonial centers also exist. 

 LOWER SECTOR where the sacred rock is located, the temple of the three doors, the area of ​​the mortars or mirrors, a place where 2 rocky outcrops stand out in the form of mortars that some believe the maidens filled with water so they could see the constellations and eclipses, the temple of the condor and the steps of the fountains and finally THE QUARRY AREA, an area located at the top of Machu Picchu where we can still see carved and semi-carved stones that were going to be used to continue building more sectors of Machu Picchu.

  

Some of the most common ways to get to Machu Picchu are by train and the Inca Trail (4-day trek). There is also a new option which is to take a minivan in Cusco and get to the HYDROELECTRIC and from there walk 9 kilometers (3 hours) to Aguas Calientes, an easily accessible route that runs alongside the railway where you can also enjoy beautiful landscapes and ecosystems.

Among the most significant modern events is the election of MACHUPICCHU as one of the new wonders of the world, this happened thanks to a virtual vote organized by NEW OPEN WORLD CORPORATION led by the Swiss Bernard Weber where millions of voters participated who thus elected the new SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD on July 7, 2007. This worldwide recognition has meant that Macchupicchu has become today one of the most visited destinations in the world.