The mysterious Inca citadel, hidden deep in the jungle of the green Urubamba Valley, high on a mountain top, is the best-preserved city of the great Inca empire in Peru. Even among other striking monuments of Inca culture, the remains of Machu Picchu stand out for their grandeur. Scientists managed to discover Machu Picchu only at the beginning of the twentieth century, and before that there were only legends about the existence of the "lost city of the Incas" for a long time, giving rise to many questions: who built it, who lived in it and how did it die?
Myths and facts
The construction of Machu Picchu was started by order of the Inca emperor Pachacuti in the middle of the 15th century as a royal residence. Inca legends tell that Pachacuti ordered the construction of Machu Picchu to mark the defeat of the Chunks, a powerful rival to the ethnic group. Work on the magnificent structure continued until the arrival of the European conquistadors in 1532. Machu Picchu, like many other Inca projects, was not completed. It is likely that only a few, with the exception of the inhabitants of this region, knew of its existence. Travel outside the homeland was restricted by the government.
After Pachacuti's death, Machu Picchu became the property of his successor Panaka, who was responsible for the maintenance, management and continuation of construction.
The Inca empire grew in an astonishingly short time, in less than 100 years, from a small area in southern central Peru to a vast region encompassing present-day Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and parts of present-day Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. The expansion and development of the Incas into one of the great civilizations of the world for such a short time remains one of the unsolved mysteries of modern science.
In one of the Peruvian legends it is said that somewhere in the spurs of the Eastern Andes there is a city, which with its magnificence "surpassed everything created by mortals." Along with the details, the amazing accuracy of the details, the legends also claimed something fantastic: the birds helped people build a city and a fortress.
The buildings of the Incas really amazed scientists with their accuracy and skill. The Incas used stones of large size, placing them tightly together without any cementing solution. The stones were so carefully fitted that it was impossible to insert even a sheet of paper between them.
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In the middle of the twentieth century, zoologists discovered a bird in the Andes, which the Indians called "hakaklyo" ("one who drills a stone"). Gathering leaves of some plant unknown to modern science in the forest, these birds transfer them in their beak high into the mountains and easily “drill” nests up to one meter deep in the stone. The juice of this plant softens the stone, as it were. And during the construction of their fortress, the Incas polished the surface of the boulders with the sap of this plant, the secret of which was revealed to them by the bird "Hacaklio".
In their rituals, the Incas worshiped stone and sun. Archaeological research has revealed a complex of ceremonial structures, including the Temple of the Sun. These recent discoveries suggest that Machu Picchu probably served as a regional administrative center and trade. The structures were designed and functioned as a ceremonial center. Many different buildings indicate that a number of ritual events dedicated to the stone and the sun were probably held here.
As a result of the excavations, another strange pattern was revealed: there were 10 women per man. Based on this, some historians have suggested that the city was the sacred refuge of the legendary "alkyas" - chaste virgins and the most beautiful girls who devoted themselves to serving the sun god.
The Inca Empire came to a tragic end when smallpox and other diseases brought by the Spaniards from Europe killed Huayna Capac and about 2/3 of the population in the period 1524-26. Time and earthquakes destroyed many castles of the Spaniards who conquered the country of the Incas, while the walls of Sacsayhuaman and Machu Picchu still stand …
The Machu Picchu complex is open daily from 6.00 to 17.30.
Cost: 126 Peruvian soles ($ 45).
At the entrance to Machu Picchu, tickets are not for sale! They can be purchased at the cultural center in Aguascalientes (10 m from the main square, open from 5.15 to 21.00), or in Cusco at the Institute of Culture (a few blocks from the main square de Armas). Better to buy a ticket the day before, they are valid for 3 days (but only for one visit). Take your passport with you. You can carry small bags up to 20 liters, there is a luggage room.