Machu Picchu
High in the mountains of the Urubamba river, up in the skies the great minds of the Inca civilization build such a stunning symbol of architecture and engineering that until this day, reclaims its beauty and magnificence for more the 500 years.
There are a few ways to get to Machupicchu depending on your time and budget. By train, by car or even walking for four or five days to complete the Inca trail. In my case it was a 6h drive inside a minivan with a handful of locals and fellow tourists meandering through the mountains around the sacred valley until we get to a town called Santa Teresa and finally we arrive at the hydroelectric power station of Machu Picchu.
From there a 2h walk along the railway to get you to Aguas Calientes.
This is a popular route so you will find a lot of people coming and going, You need to pay attention to the train but there are so slow and noisy that in this peaceful surroundings only interrupted by the constant sound of the Urubamba river you will ear it a mile away.
As you walk alongside the river you beginning to understand why this place was forgotten for so many years, Luckily the conquistadors never found it so the Inca citadel was kept dormant through the centuries on a long sleep only interrupted in 1911 when Hiram Bingham was looking for The Lost City of the Incas.
In 1911 when Hiram Bingham was shown to Machu Picchu by a local farmer he was looking for The Lost City of the Incas. Bingham notes the fine quality of Inca stonework of several principal buildings but because of the vegetation he was not able to observe the full extent of the site, unclear about the original purpose of the ruins he continues the expedition down the Urubamba and up the Vilcabamba Rivers.
It was declared World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO describing it as:
An absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization
The Machu Picchu Archaeological complex is completely imperceptive from the river. Immediately when you realize the magnitude of the mountains surrounding it you will never expect that someone can build something on those high pics.
There is so much mystery surrounding this enigmatic place and a lot has been said about how was build and what was its purpose but nevertheless when you visit this lost old city and arrive at sunrise you can dive fully deep into the magic that surrounds this ruins.
Local Peruvian
