Machu Picchu
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Machu Picchu facts
Machu Picchu is one of the most famous and spectacular sets of ruins in the world. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, Machu Picchu receives over one million visitors per year and is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World (Machu Picchu is the site of an ancient Inca city, high in the Andes of Peru. Located at 2430 m, the site is often referred to as “The Lost City of Incas).
How to get there?
The access point to Machu Picchu is the town of Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo). This little town has no road access from any surrounding towns, so it’s not reachable by car. To access the site, you must have a ticket for Machu Picchu – which are available online in advance or from various ticket offices in Cusco. Machu Picchu tickets are NOT sold at the entrance gate and are limited to 2500 per day, with entrance to Huayna Picchu and Montana Machu Picchu each being further limited to 400 per day. During peak times of the year, tickets for these additional elements can sell out weeks in advance.
HISTORY
Archaeological evidence shows that people have practiced agriculture in the Urubamba and adjacent valleys since 760 B.C. The Vilcabamba region came under Inca control in 1440 during a campaign conducted by Pachucutec , the 9th inca kingdom. Others speculate the Inca city was a sacred centre where the great political, religious and economic minds of the Inca Empire gathered. A city of stone built without aid of wheels or iron tools.
WHO LIVES THERE?
Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Peru, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders, whose civilization was virtually wiped out by Spanish invaders in the 16th century. For hundreds of years, until the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911, the abandoned citadel’s existence was a secret known only to peasants living in the region. The site stretches over an impressive 5-mile distance, featuring more than 3,000 stone steps that link its many different levels. Today, hundreds of thousands of people tramp through Machu Picchu every year, braving crowds and landslides to see the sun set over its towering stone monuments and marvel at the mysterious splendor of one of the world’s most famous man made wonders.
With a bit of careful planning and the right approach, you will find the site as enchanting and engaging as any on the planet. The draw of Machu Picchu (which means “old mountain” in the Quechua language) is obvious: a 550-year old citadel built by the most advanced – and in Peru the very last – pre - Columbian society in the spectacular setting of a saddle between two forest-clad Andean peaks that has been preserved enough to be recognizable as a city. It is high: 7,973ft above sea level. It is large: the ruins are the size of a village, and combined with adjoining forest and wilderness park, the “historical sanctuary”, as Unesco describes it, covers more than 116 square miles. It is also mysterious: we know its functions were partly residential and partly religious, but we are still guessing about its cosmic positioning and its academic importance to the Incas.
Dating to the mid-1400s, it's a marvel of mortar-free limestone architecture perched on a high plateau deep in the Amazonian jungle. Get there via train from Cusco or, if you're not faint-hearted, make the trip on foot via a multi-day hiking trail—you'll travel through deep Andean gullies and enjoy stunning views.
Machu Picchu is busiest in July and August, the peak tourist season and also the not-quite-so-wet season. It is never totally dry in the Andean foothills and you’ll probably get showers and mist clinging to the peaks at some stage of your visit.
