Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu (Quechua machu pikchu means "Old Mountain") - the mysterious city of Inca, built in the middle of the XV century, and the tourist center of Peru. It is located about 100 km from the capital of the Inca Empire in Cusco in the mountains at an altitude of 2,450 meters above sea level and is so secretly hidden in the Andes that the Spanish colonizers could not reach it. We learned about this city in 1911 thanks to the American scientist from Yale Hireem Bingham. Although for the sake of justice it should be noted that the locals always knew about Machu Picchu, but they were not in a hurry to share information with strangers.

The history of the opening of this city is very interesting: the fact is that Khairem Bingham was looking for a completely different city - the legendary Vilkabamba, where, according to Inca legends, many of their treasures and mummies of rulers were taken out during the conquest of the country by the Spaniards. Bingham wandered the mountains hoping to find some trace of this city and on the way met a boy carrying a ceramic jug. Bingham, being a scientist specialist, immediately realized that the pitcher is not simple, and asked the boy where he took it. Adult locals did not trust the gringos and tried not to give out their secrets, but the boy, by the simplicity of his soul, told about Machu Picchu and pointed out to Bingham the road.

Machu Picchu surprisingly fits into the surrounding landscape, so it is often called "city in heaven" or "city among the clouds." The triangular roofs of its buildings seem to be part of the landscape. This is an engineering and architectural masterpiece: for the construction of such a city, builders were required to have extensive knowledge of topography, geology, astronomy and ecology: natural slopes were used in the construction, and construction techniques provided for the stability of buildings even in the case of a rock slope of 40 * or in the event of an earthquake. Today, the construction of Machu Picchu seems incredible - the stones were transported from remote quarry: they descended on wet clay slopes, dragged along logs, and then they were polished so perfectly that even now it is impossible to slip the blade of a knife in the junctions of joints!

It is not known for certain why Machu Picchu was built. According to the documents of the 16th century, this was the residence of the High Inca Pachacuteca (1438-1470), which after his death turned into a place where Cusco's noble families were sent to teach children. Men studied astronomy, and women - in the textile business. According to another version, the city had a military and defensive purpose: first, it provided control over the subordinate Incas to surrounding tribes, and secondly, under the control of Machu Picchu there was access to the fertile tropical and subtropical regions where fruits, pumpkins, and coca were grown and various medical plants - the most important for that time products.

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