Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu History
Machu Picchu was built somewhere around 1460 at the height of the Inca Empire and abandoned less than 100 years later after the Spanish invaded. The main theory is that the inhabitants were wiped by smallpox that was brought over with the Spanish. Hiram Bingham, who is the credited discoverer of this site, along with several others, originally hypothesized that the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca of the “Virgins of the Suns”. Another theory maintains that Machu Picchu was an Inca “llacta”, a settlement built to control the economy of conquered areas. However, recent research conducted by scholars has convinced most archaeologists that it was an estate of the Inca emperor, Pachacuti.
Although Machu Picchu is located only about 50 miles from Cusco, the Inca capital, it was never found by the Spanish and consequently not plundered and destroyed. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew over much of the site, and few knew the site even existed.
One of Machu Picchu’s primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods. The Intihuatana is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes- at midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun “sits with all his might upon the pillar” and is for a moment “tied” to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they “tied the sun” to halt its northward movement in the sky. It was very sacred.
Machu Picchu was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as “an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization”. On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Machu Picchu Visitor Information
There are a few different ways to visit Machu Picchu: hiking the Inca Trail, by train from the city of Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, or by taking a helicopter from the Cuzco airport to Aguas Calientes.
Most people get to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail. This is a four day hike through the mountains. It’s not long but it is very hard and the ascent is very steep. Tours book out months in advance and cost hundreds of dollars. Yet this is one of the most rewarding ways to get to Machu Picchu as you have to “work for it” and you appreciate what people hundreds of years had to go through to get to this remote place.
You can also take the train to Machu Picchu. During the peak months of May to September all of the train tickets can be sold out several days in advance. If you are on a tight schedule it is absolutely essential that you make you train reservations as far in advance as possible. Do not wait until you arrive in Cusco to buy your train tickets. Trips via the train book out months in advance.
Machu Picchu Conservation Efforts
UNESCO continually threatens to put Machu Picchu on its list of World Heritage in Danger sites, a designation meant to encourage swift corrective action due to rampant tourism to the site that has lad to a degradation of Machu Picchu and a threat to its existence.
In January 2001 the government began to regulate the trail and to require permits. Of the 93 tour operators that had sold Inca Trail packages at the time, half were denied permission to continue operating. To meet the new requirements tour operators must use only assigned camp sites with proper toilet facilities; carry all garbage with them; use only propane for fuel (no open fires); provide two guides for groups of more than seven tourists; and limit the amount porters carry to 25 kilos.
The World Monuments Fund placed Machu Picchu on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because of environmental degradation resulting from the impact of tourism, uncontrolled development in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes that included a poorly sited tram to ease visitor access, and the construction of a bridge across the Vilcanota River that is likely to bring even more tourists to the site in defiance of a court order and government protests against it.
Tagged With Inca, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Peru, South America, UNESCO, World Heritage Sites