About Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca which is located on a mountain ridge above Urubamba valley in Peru. Machu Picchu is also referred as “The Lost City of the Incas”, and is one of symbol of Inca Empire. It was constructed in the year 1450 and was left abandoned for about 100 years. It is said that the most of the inhabitants of this place were wiped off due to the dreadful disease known as small pox. Machu Picchu was not known to the outside world for long later an American Historian Hiram Bingham brought it to the notice of the people and since then this place has become an important spot of tourist attraction. The site is now thronged by the thousands of tourist from all over the world.
Traditionally Machu Picchu has been the birthplace of the Incan. Further researches by Richard Burger tell that this place has been an estate of Inca emperor, Pachacuti. This site was selected as it had the most ideal location and striking beauty. Another theory which evolved was that Machu Picchu was an Inca, his was a settlement which was formed to keep a check on the economy of the conquered regions. It is also believed that it was built to imprison anybody who had committed dreadful crime against the Inca society.
It was built in the classical but comprehensive Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its key buildings are the Temple of the Sun, Intihuatana, and the Room of the Three Windows. These can be found in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu was declared the Seven Wonders of the World in the year 2007, which attracts tourists in large number. It was in the year 1981 that Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary and later in the year 1883 it was confirmed as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This place is known for its unusual beauty and is a sacred place for the visitors.
The Incas were hardy people and ruled the Andean Cordillera, which is considered to be the second in height and harshness to the Himalayas. These people lived at altitudes ranging from 15,000 to 16,000 feet and their rituals were performed at heights up to 22,057 feet at Llullaillaco in Chile, which is the highest Inca sacrificial site known. They built roads and sacrificial platforms at these heights, which speaks in volumes of their strength and courage. This ability of the sandal clad Inca to thrive at extremely high elevations continues to perplex scientists even today.
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