Why travel?
Located in the department of Cusco, covering an area of 32 592 hectares, the Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary protects unique species of flora and fauna, as well as featuring some breath-taking landscapes and preserving the archaeological sites to be found here. Much of the beauty and enchantment of Machu Picchu, Peru's premier tourist attraction, is due to its spectacular natural surroundings: the cloud forest region of this historic sanctuary.
Machu Picchu is home to some striking species, such as the cock-of-the-rocks (Peru's national bird) and the spectacled bear, the only bear species in South America. The area is also inhabited by the rare dwarf deer called sachacabra and the Huemal deer, plus more than 300 bird species. The area boasts a large variety of flora species, with some 200 species of orchids registered here to date. Towering over the area is Mount Salkantay (6,271 meters), the highest mountain in the Cordillera Vilcanota range, worshipped by the locals as an apu mountain spirit.
Machu Picchu combines a spectacular natural setting with the attraction of the world's most famous pre-Hispanic sites. The city of Machu Picchu itself was built at the top of a granite mountain. The Incas, using ingenious engineering techniques, were able to transport heavy stone blocks up the mountain side, and once there, they used their excellent masonry skills to produce amazingly polished stones that fit together perfectly.
The original purpose of Machu Picchu remains under debate; theories range from a high security prison to a center for agricultural experimentation to a sacred temple with precise astronomical functions. Few sights in the world compare to that of swirling mists parting at dawn as the sun rises over the mountain crags to illuminate this mystifying city, a lasting testament to the power and ultimate tragedy of the Inca Empire. The amazing lost city of the Incas Machu Picchu was discovered to the world in 1911 by the American explorer, Hiram Bingham, this city is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of scenic architecture in the world.
What to do?
Machu Picchu ranks as Peru's most popular tourist attraction and one of the most prominent attractions in South America. The majority of travelers get to the base of the ruins by train. No matter how you arrive, there are several highlights to experience while touring this majestic citadel. Learn and know more about the citadel with the different activities you can do, such as Culturals activities, fauna observation, flora observation, birdwatching, investigation trips, spring waters, camping, andinism, trekking, termalism, mystic rituals, photos, etc. The city is divided into three sectors or districts: agricultural, urban, and religious. The agricultural distrit, is surrounded by a series of agricultural terraces that differ in type and size and might have performed two chief functions, one being crop growing and the other protection from water erosion caused by intense rains. Within the agricultural sector are five storehouse-like structures, called collpas or granaries.
The urban distrit, the physical separation between this sector and the agricultural is a dry moat, and from this site you can also see a rather long stairway leading to the main gate. One of the features of an Incan city (llaqta) is that the main architectural elements are found within this sector. And in the case of Machu Picchu, the city is shaped as a letterU. To the north is a large sector or distrit, religious due to the number of temples there, and to the south is a group of homes and workshops built on terraced platforms that Hiram Bingham christened the military group. Explore Machu Picchu
Upper cemetery and burial stones.
It is a three-walled building with several windows, which you come to before reaching the main gate. The view from here offers a panorama of the two large sectors, the agricultural and the urban, as well as the surrounding scenery.
Check point
It is a three-walled building with several windows, which you come to before reaching the main gate. The view from here offers a panorama of the two large sectors, the agricultural and the urban, as well as the surrounding scenery.
Temple of the Sun
The building is designed as a semi-circle and constructed on a foundation of rock, an existing granite block fashioned to follow the natural curve and whose perimeter measures 10.5 meters. There are two trapezoidal windows in which the builders added moldings at each of the corners.
Temple of the three windows
This building, located on the eastern side of the main square, exhibits a large rectangular floor plan and owes its name to the main section, where there are three beautiful windows plus two open spaces. The architectural style exhibited in this structure, together with the main temple, is by far the most striking of all Machu Picchu; we are talking about enormous, meticulously fashioned stones, fitted to such a degree that mere millimeters separate them. Main Temple, It is north of the sacred plaza, hard by the Temple of the Three Windows. The Incas built it as a wayrana, i.e. an 11 meter by 8 meter rectangular structure but with only three walls, which measure .90 meters in thickness. At the foot of the main wall is a sculpted stone that might have served as an altar.
Intiwatana
This intrusive rock is the ceremonial center of Machu Picchu. The word can be translated as sun (inti) year (wata) and was a place where the Incan astronomers studied the solar year to possibly determine the solstices and equinoxes. Many researchers believe the Incas might have used the angles of the Intiwatana as a directional landmark in order for them to find magnetic north. Whatever the case may be, it certainly was the ceremonial axis of great religious significance. Etc.
Main Temple
t is north of the sacred plaza, hard by the Temple of the Three Windows. The Incas built it as a wayrana, i.e. an 11 meter by 8 meter rectangular structure but with only three walls, which measure .90 meters in thickness. At the foot of the main wall is a sculpted stone that might have served as an altar.
The Plazas
There are four plazas in Machu Picchu located at different levels, yet they all feature classic Incan architecture in the form of their rectangular shape. The architects linked them together by staircases that were built into the construction of the terraces. The largest of these is the main square, which fulfilled religious and social functions.
Mausoleum or Tomb
The enormous, leaning stone block supporting the lower part of the Temple of the Sun forms a grotto that had been decorated and prepared with exceptional skill and later used as a mausoleum. It was also a place where the people worshipped and made offerings to the mummies of the chief rulers. At its entrance you see a depiction of the earth goddess's stair step symbol.
Doors
Although the doors found throughout Machu Picchu feature a variety of textures, sizes, and architectural styles, differing one from another, they all possess the traditional form of a trapezoid.
USA/CANADA: +1 786-350-7571 PERÚ: +51 1 6285360
LIMA - PERÚ
+51 1 628 - 5360
