Machu Picchu

Overview

Definately one of the best places to visit in peru. Make sure you do the four day walk instead of the two day one if you can. Follows the Inca trail through the cloud forest, past other smaller ruins. The site itself is pretty awesome with really well restored ruins. The best part of the trip was the walk up the mountain behind the ruins called Huyana Picchu Is quite a challenging 45min walk but definately worth it. You get almost a birds eye view of the ruins, perched on the rocks at the top of the mountain.

History

These remarkable ruins were only rediscovered in 1911 by the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham. Perched dramatically 1000 ft above the Urubamba river, Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also the end point of the most popular hike in South America, the Inca Trail.

The story of Machu Picchu is quite a remarkable one; it is still unknown exactly what the site was in terms of its place in Inca life. Current researchers tend to believe that Machu Picchu was a country resort for elite Incans. At any given time, there were not more than 750 people living at Machu Picchu, with far less than that during the rainy season. One thing that is clear is that it was a remarkably well hidden place, and well protected. Located far up in the mountains of Peru, visitors had to travel up long valleys littered with Inca check points and watch towers. Remarkably, the Spanish conquistadors missed the site, and Bingham only discovered the site by chance. On a wet day in 1911, he travelled up the slopes with a few companions from his expedition. On meeting local peasants, they told him about ancient ruins that covered the area. To Bingham's amazement, he had found the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu.