Celebrating a world wonder:

Machu Picchu was carefully planned and designed by its engineers and architects, surrounded by vegetation, its walls survived the fall of the Inca Empire only to revive various centuries later at the hands of the american explorer Hiram Bingham.

Machu Picchu citadel was built by mid 15th century, its name in quechua means the old mountain and is thought that it was a religious sanctuary, a resting place for the Inca Pachacutec. Its constructions are considered as masterwork in construction and engineering. In 1983 the citadel was honored and named patrimony for humanity and on 7th of July 2007 declared as one of the new world wonders.

Natural Beauty

hundreds of years before our era, all this area was settled by people from the highlands seeking to expand their agricultural frontiers. The beauty of this area long after captivated the Inca Pachacutec (1438-1470), who ordered the construction the impressive complex which today we can contemplate that it held once a population between 300 and 1000 inhabitants. This Inca emperor brought about to the area prosperity after confronting the powerful Chancas and beating them at war.

Time went bye and the glorious Inca Empire fell at the feet of the Spaniards, only remnants of ruins and stories told on from generations to generations were left.

Rediscovering

Finally beginning of the 20th century, an american historian and professor from Yale University known as Hiram Bingham ( 1875-1956) departed in search of the legendary citadel of Vilcabamba, last stronghold of the Inca Kings.

Driven by his research, the historian traveled to Cusco and in 1911 and entered the borderline of the tropical highland jungle. He found himself in the process of entering further into the jungle when Hiram noticed that his location did not coincide with the original historical sources, however in Mandorbamba he spoke with a farmer known Melchor Arteaga, about Machu Picchu from which he had already herd from Albert Giesecke in the city of Cusco and rector of the university of San Antonio de Abad. Dazzled by the comments of Arteaga, Bingham asked him to guide him in exchange for a pecunary compensation. Accompanied by Arteaga and sergeant Carrasco, his official custodian descended the steep slopes with dense vegetation which seperate Mandorbamba from the ruins.

At the entrance of the ruins of Machu Picchu citadel they found two farmers who still were using the agricultural terraces for their cultivation, both water irrigation and agricultural activity was functioning 100% after 400 years! Pablo Alvarez a small kid who used to play within the ruins, guided Bingham his first time throughout the ruins, still covered with thick vegetation. The historian was impressed with so much beauty that he started all the preparations to convince auspice from Yale University, National Geographic and the Peruvian Government started scientific investigations of the site

Finally in 1913, Machu Picchu was known throughout the world, through the pages of the National Geographic, where it was shown the importance of these ruins and the findings made by such an important expedition 100 years ago!

Geography:

This great historic legacy is located over the Urubamba canyon at 450 m above the level of the valley and at 2438 meters above sea level, within the Andean Cordillera and 130 kms from Cusco City. At its feet circulates the furious waters of the Vilcanota River – Urubamba simulating a very large and dangerous serpent!.

The stone construction covers approximately 530 meters long and 200 meters wide. But the area protected by the state, known as the Historical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is about 326 km2, and besides protecting these ruins it also protects many other inca ruins as well as many biological specimens in verge of extinction.

Tags: 100 years of Machu Picchu - Centenary of Machu Picchu

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