Machu Picchu, Peru!
Published by max July 28th, 2008 in Travel Info, Travel Peru, Travel South America.
Machu Picchu may be one of the must-visit places in Peru.
Here’s a video of Machu Picchu:
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Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Picchu, “Old mountain”) is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level[1]. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. Often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”, Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire.
It was built around the year 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Forgotten for centuries, the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. It has recently come to light that the site may have been discovered and raided several years previously, in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns.[2] It was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
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Walking around the Machu Picchu site almost surreal. Don’t just go for a day trip, stay in Aguas Calientes and see the site in the morning before hordes come of the train later in the morning. I spent 2 days absorbing it all, and don’t forget to climb Huana Picchu to get another spectacular view of the site.