Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Peru
It is thought that the site was chosen for its unique location and geological features. It is said that the silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu represents the face of the Inca looking upward towards the sky, with the largest peak, Huayna Picchu (meaning Young Mountain) representing his nose. The peak is also known as the “hitching post of the sun.”
In 1913, the site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.
In 2003, some 400,000 people visited Machu Picchu, and UNESCO has expressed concern about the damage this volume of tourism is causing to the site. Peruvian authorities insist that there is no problem, and that the remoteness of the site will impose natural limits on tourism. Periodically, proposals are made to install a cable car to the site, but such proposals have so far always been rejected.
Machu Picchu is located 70 kilometers to the northwest of Cusco, on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu, located about 2,350 meters above sea level. It is one of the most important archaeological centers in South America and as a consequence the most visited tourist attraction in Peru.
From the top, at the cliff of Machu Picchu, one can appreciate the vertical precipice of 600 meters ending at the foot of the Urubamba River. The location of the city was a military secret because its deep precipices and mountains were an excellent natural defense.
In 1981 an area of 325.92 square kilometres surrounding Machu Picchu was declared a “Historical Sanctuary” of Peru. This area, which is not only limited to the ruins themselves, also includes the regional landscape with its flora and fauna, highlighting the abundance of orchids.
The firmest theories maintain that it was an Incan “llacta”: a settlement built up to control the economy of the conquered regions. It was the most beautiful llacta of the Incan empire, and would have been built with the specific purpose of protecting the most select of the Incan aristocracy in the event of an attack. It seems it was used in a particular moment as Zapa Inca’s “resting place” and also as an “observatory”.
All of the construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones.
The Incas never used the wheel in any practical manner. How they moved and placed enormous blocks of stones is a mystery, although the general belief is that they used hundreds of men to push the stones up inclined planes. The Incas did not leave any documentation about that process because they did not employ writing.
The space is composed of 140 constructions including temples, sanctuaries, parks and residences.
There are more than one hundred flights of stone steps – often completely carved in a single block of granite – and a great number of water fountains, interconnected by channels and water-drainages perforated in the rock, designed for the original irrigation system.
[Source: Wikipedia]
Related entries:
August 20th, 2006 at 1:29 am
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I have a couple of videos of MP myself that I thought about uploading. I always enjoy going back through my photos and videos to this amazing place.
I often go to this Machu Picchu Mosaic (a 222 Megapixel Image) and browse and zoom around. Its almost like standing on this hill again.