MACHU PICCHU PERU

Machu Picchu is a settlement built by the Incas in the fifteenth century. Inca,
or Inka, is the name that was given to the inhabitants of the basin of the
Huatanay River, on whose banks the city of Cuzco was built. Before that
time the Incas had succeeded in forming a kingdom that dominated the
middle part of the Vilcanota River.

Introduction of Machu Picchu Peru

Almost a century after its archaeological discovery and thanks to recent

studies of sixteenth century archival documents, there are good arguments
to suppose that the citadel of Machu Picchu was - like the pyramids of the
pharaohs in Egypt or the tomb of the emperor Chin Shi Huan in China - the
luxurious and well cared for mausoleum of the Inca Pachakuteq, founder
and first emperor of Tawantinsuyu.

Machu Picchu Peru

No one doubts that it is a sanctuary of superior social position built in a

privileged place seven or eight days' journey on foot from the city of Cuzco.
In Machu Picchu there are remains of buildings that were covered with gold,
presumably with fantasy gardens, idols and offerings like those of the
temple of Qorikancha in Cuzco.

Machu Picchu Peru

There are also other temples and palaces still remaining, all adjacent and
carefully constructed, crossed by a network of fine fountains of water carved
into the rock, altars, cosmic observatories and multiple spaces for the cult of
the dead; from them, on many days of the year, can be enjoyed the
spectacle of rainbows which are born and die right in front of one's eyes.
Machu Picchu is located some 112 km by railroad north of the city of Cuzco,
at an altitude of 2360 m above sea level; that is, about 1000 m below
Cuzco, which is at 3408 m altitude.
Machu Picchu Peru
The place was known as Picchu, Piccho, or Picho during colonial times and
consisted of two parts: Machu ("old") and Wayna ("young"). Picchu means
"hill", "mountain" or "peak" and therefore the name is simply descriptive. It
could well have been Patallaqta ("town on the heights"), which was the
"town" or the "house" where the mummy of Pachakuteq was kept. In the
citadel of Machu Picchu few people lived - probably no more than 200 or 300
- and, if what we suspect is true, all of them were of high rank and were
linked to the lineage of the Inca, that is, they were descendents of the
founder of Tawantinsuyu.

History of Machu Picchu Peru

According to traditions collected by the Spanish, Machu Picchu must have
been built under the direction of Pachakuteq. The sequence of the process
of its construction is not known, but it seems to have the been the work of a
single project tantamount to a sanctuary or "urbanization" where the
spaces, levels and forms were previously established, even if during the
course of its existence entrances were corrected or chambers added.

Description Machu Picchu Peru

The sanctuary of Machu Picchu is divided into two large sectors - one the
agricultural sector and the other the urban or the citadel - of which the first
surrounds the second. We could consider the peak Wayna Picchu as a third
sector.

The principal road to approach Machu Picchu, which comes from Cuzco
through the south (Qosqoñan), crosses the crest of the mountain and goes
to the entrance to the sanctuary after passing through areas with isolated
constructions - such as what is now called the watchtower - posts for
lookouts or guards, qolqa or granaries and abundant agricultural terraces.
There were also other roads, such as that which made the river accessible
from the sanctuary on the northeast. At present a road has been
constructed for tourist visits, a road which did not exist before and now runs
parallel to the Qosqoñan.

Machu Picchu Peru

The sanctuary properly speaking is a citadel made up of palaces and
temples, dwellings and storehouses, but above all for buildings which clearly
fulfill ceremonial religious functions, the more luxurious and spectacular
components of which are the mausoleums carved in the rock.

The buildings as well as the plazas and the platforms that constitute the
urban sector are connected among themselves by a system of narrow lanes
or paths, mostly in the form of flights of steps, which cross the terraces
which follow a flat longitudinal axis. The main platform of the urban sector is
an extensive plaza - the main plaza - which in turn divides the buildings into
hanan ("above" or "upper") and urin ("below" or "lower"). The urban sector
was surrounded by impediments to gaining access to the sanctuary such as
a defense wall and the deep and wide ditch, or dry moat, which surrounded
the whole complex, not as part of a military fortification rather as a form of
restricted ceremonial isolation.

http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/

<a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu Peru </a>

Machu Picchu is a settlement built by the Incas in the fifteenth century. Inca,
or Inka, is the name that was given to the inhabitants of the basin of the
Huatanay River, on whose banks the city of Cuzco was built. Before that
time the Incas had succeeded in forming a kingdom that dominated the
middle part of the Vilcanota River.
Introduction of <a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu
Picchu Peru </a>

Almost a century after its archaeological discovery and thanks to recent

studies of sixteenth century archival documents, there are good arguments
to suppose that the citadel of Machu Picchu was - like the pyramids of the
pharaohs in Egypt or the tomb of the emperor Chin Shi Huan in China - the
luxurious and well cared for mausoleum of the Inca Pachakuteq, founder
and first emperor of Tawantinsuyu.

<a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu Peru </a>

No one doubts that it is a sanctuary of superior social position built in a

privileged place seven or eight days' journey on foot from the city of Cuzco.
In Machu Picchu there are remains of buildings that were covered with gold,
presumably with fantasy gardens, idols and offerings like those of the
temple of Qorikancha in Cuzco.

<a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu Peru </a>

There are also other temples and palaces still remaining, all adjacent and
carefully constructed, crossed by a network of fine fountains of water carved
into the rock, altars, cosmic observatories and multiple spaces for the cult of
the dead; from them, on many days of the year, can be enjoyed the
spectacle of rainbows which are born and die right in front of one's eyes.
Machu Picchu is located some 112 km by railroad north of the city of Cuzco,
at an altitude of 2360 m above sea level; that is, about 1000 m below
Cuzco, which is at 3408 m altitude.

<a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu Peru </a>

The place was known as Picchu, Piccho, or Picho during colonial times and
consisted of two parts: Machu ("old") and Wayna ("young"). Picchu means
"hill", "mountain" or "peak" and therefore the name is simply descriptive. It
could well have been Patallaqta ("town on the heights"), which was the
"town" or the "house" where the mummy of Pachakuteq was kept. In the
citadel of Machu Picchu few people lived - probably no more than 200 or 300
- and, if what we suspect is true, all of them were of high rank and were
linked to the lineage of the Inca, that is, they were descendents of the
founder of Tawantinsuyu.

History of <a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu

Peru </a>

According to traditions collected by the Spanish, Machu Picchu must have

been built under the direction of Pachakuteq. The sequence of the process
of its construction is not known, but it seems to have the been the work of a
single project tantamount to a sanctuary or "urbanization" where the
spaces, levels and forms were previously established, even if during the
course of its existence entrances were corrected or chambers added.

Description <a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu

Peru </a>

The sanctuary of Machu Picchu is divided into two large sectors - one the
agricultural sector and the other the urban or the citadel - of which the first
surrounds the second. We could consider the peak Wayna Picchu as a third
sector.

The principal road to approach Machu Picchu, which comes from Cuzco
through the south (Qosqoñan), crosses the crest of the mountain and goes
to the entrance to the sanctuary after passing through areas with isolated
constructions - such as what is now called the watchtower - posts for
lookouts or guards, qolqa or granaries and abundant agricultural terraces.
There were also other roads, such as that which made the river accessible
from the sanctuary on the northeast. At present a road has been
constructed for tourist visits, a road which did not exist before and now runs
parallel to the Qosqoñan.

<a href="http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/"> Machu Picchu Peru </a>

The sanctuary properly speaking is a citadel made up of palaces and

temples, dwellings and storehouses, but above all for buildings which clearly
fulfill ceremonial religious functions, the more luxurious and spectacular
components of which are the mausoleums carved in the rock.
The buildings as well as the plazas and the platforms that constitute the
urban sector are connected among themselves by a system of narrow lanes
or paths, mostly in the form of flights of steps, which cross the terraces
which follow a flat longitudinal axis. The main platform of the urban sector is
an extensive plaza - the main plaza - which in turn divides the buildings into
hanan ("above" or "upper") and urin ("below" or "lower"). The urban sector
was surrounded by impediments to gaining access to the sanctuary such as
a defense wall and the deep and wide ditch, or dry moat, which surrounded
the whole complex, not as part of a military fortification rather as a form of
restricted ceremonial isolation.

http://www.machupicchu-peru.net/

http://www.kravciuk.com/wallpapers/natural-scenes-1/The%20Lost%20City
%20of%20the%20Incas,%20Machu%20Picchu,%20Peru.jpg

http://www.kwantlen.ca/__shared/assets/Machu_Picchu9826.jpg
http://news.blog.gustavus.edu/files/2010/01/Machu-Picchu.jpg