Machu Picchu
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What is Machu Picchu?
Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley. It is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a 2,430-meter (7,970 ft) mountain range.It is undoubtedly the most important tourist destination in South America. Around 3,000 people arrive in Peru every day to visit this ancient Inca Citadel. However, there are still many questions about Machu Picchu nowadays. Please, find below the most interesting facts about Machu Picchu.
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Why Machu Picchu famous for?
More than 7,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains,
Machu Picchu is the most visited tourist destination in Peru. A symbol
of the Incan Empire and built around 1450AD, Machu Picchu was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was named one of the New Seven Wonders
of the World in 2007.
Machu Picchu was built by Inca Pachacuti.
Peruvian culture started somewhere around 5000 B.C. In the north
of Lima, Caral is one of the oldest civilizations in Peru; they lived in the
desert and survived trading with their neighbors while Mesopotamia, Egypt,
China, and India were developing. The Incas appear in the history line
around the 1300s. Many Inca cities were built over the foundation of past
civilizations, like Cusco, the capital. However, no traces of earlier culture
were found in Machu Picchu. This means that the Incas were the first to
arrive at these mountains. Machu Picchu was built between 1400 to 1500 AD. This
period belongs to Pachacuti, the 9th Inca ruler, and his son Túpac Inca
Yupanqui.
How long does it take to walk through Machu Picchu?
Some visitors wonder about how much time to spend at
Machu Picchu and how to take advantage of that time during the visit. Even
though each tourist has up to 4 hours to visit the site, a guided tour normally
lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes. This is how long it takes to see the ruins
with your guide.
Machu Picchu was abandoned after the Spanish Invasion.
Despite many theories of
diseases, wars, and hunger in Machu Picchu, it might have suddenly caused the
people to abandon the great citadel. Nowadays, we know that Machu Picchu was
still inhabited during the first years of the conquest and abandoned during the
retrieve into Vilcabamba, the last capital of the Incas.
Machu Picchu was never lost.
Hiram Bingham arrived at
Machu Picchu on July 24th, 1911. He found 3 families living at the first
building right after the entrances: Bingham’s first guide was a little boy 11
years old named “Pablito,” he used to play inside Machu Picchu and knew the Inca
city by hand; all this was documented in the first pictures taken in black and
white.
Hiram Bingham did not discover Machu Picchu.
When Hiram
Bingham arrived in 1911, he found in the Temple of the three windows a
painting saying “Agustin Lizarraga 1902”. He was a farmer from Santa Teresa
town next to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, he fell into the Urubamba River in
1912 and died.
Hiram Bigham is the scientific Discoverer of Machu Picchu.
Everybody agrees that Hiram Bingham did not discover Machu Picchu. However, Hiram Bingham gave scientific and historical value, bringing attention to this citadel. In 1913, “National Geographic” magazine published a detailed article introducing Machu Picchu and its work, revealing the great citadel
Best Fun facts about Machu Picchu
Only Llamas live in Machu Picchu Today.
Machu Picchu has been a protected area and a World Heritage Site since 1983. No one can live inside the citadel. However, during your visit, you will see several llamas; they are not native to the area but were bought to Machu Picchu to enhance the site’s beauty and trim the grass.
You can walk up to the ruins.
The hike entrance is free and offers extraordinary views of Machu Picchu, the Urubamba River, and the surrounding mountains. However, we do not suggest the hiking trail if you are finishing a trek like Inca Trail, Salkantay Trek, Lares Trek, or any other trekking tour.
Machu Picchu was not finished.
The
question that everybody asks is if Machu Picchu was finished. Many
Inca sites in Cusco were not completed, like Ollantaytambo, invaded by the
Spaniards. Most of the rocks the Incas were transporting to build the city were
left on the trail; now, these boulders are called “Tired Stones.” The rocks
were transported from faraway quarries. Machu Picchu, on the other hand,
the quarry was right there, and the city was completed. However, like any other
modern city, it was still growing, so we see unfinished construction in Machu
Picchu.
Only women lived in Machu Picchu.
Among the findings in Machu Picchu, there were around 160 skeletons, most of which were short. Dr. George Eaton, the Osteologist, concluded that most of Machu Picchu’s Inhabitants were women. Bingham concluded that the site was the “Temple Of The Virgins of the Sun. “Later research will prove that the number of female and male skeletons was almost equal, and the skeleton was short because that was the average height of the Incas by that time.
Machu Picchu has only 2 seasons.
Machu Picchu has only 2 seasons; the wet and dry seasons. The wet season from November to March, The Dry season from April to October
Machu Picchu means Old Mountain.
Machu Picchu is a compound
Quechua word; “Machu” means old or great, and Picchu means mountain.
Machu Picchu is not the real name.
On
July 23rd, 1911, the expedition led by Hiram Bingham reached the small
village of Mandor near Aguas Calientes. The local farmer Melchor Arteaga told
the explorers that there were many ruins in the nearby mountains. They asked
the name of the site, and he said Machu Picchu.
Unfortunately, there is no record of a town with this name. Over the years, many names have been proposed, like Llaqtapta, Karmenqa, etc. However, a few years ago, the historian found writings from the first conquistador in which there was a list of the Inca Kings and the cities each built. One line says Pachacuti built Picchu, which could be the actual name of Machu Picchu, and proof that Pachacuti built this incredible city.
Conclusion
Machu picchu, Ancient fortress city of the Incas in
the Andes Mountains, south-central Peru. Perched near Cuzco in a
narrow saddle between two sharp peaks, at an elevation of 7,710 ft (2,350 m),
it escaped detection by the Spaniards, and its existence was made known only in
1911 by U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham. One of the few pre-Columbian urban centres
found nearly intact, it is about 5 sq mi (13 sq km) in area and includes a
temple and a citadel. The period of occupancy is uncertain. Made a UNESCO World
heritage site in 1983, it is a popular tourist attraction. Also
known as Machupijchu • Macchu Picchu • Machupicchu