preview

Machu Picchu History

Satisfactory Essays

Machu Picchu is the place to go if you are looking to get away. This ruin is located in Peru between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon Basin. It is known for it’s ancient Inca structures. The article Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu written by UNESCO tells us what an accomplishment Machu Picchu was, “Machu Picchu was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height. Its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna”. The ruin has thousand year old mysteries that are still unknown. The land is protected by a buffer zone, keeping it safe for people to explore the sites. In this area of Peru it has been known to see animals you might only view once in a lifetime. There are many endangered animals living here, such as dwarf brockets and pampas cats. You might also learn about Mr. Bingham. …show more content…

Machu Picchu has existed since the fifteenth century, where it had been owned by the Inca until the sixteenth century. After the Spanish Conquest the Spaniards enquired the land along with the structures. The land was later discovered by a Latin American History student from Yale University. The student, Hiram Bingham was searching for the lost ruins of the Vilcabamba, and in 1911 he came across what he believed to be the ruins of that ancient Inca village. Duane Damon, the author of the article The Stones of Machu Picchu wrote about what Bingham saw, “The explorer gaped in awe at a huge altar carved from the mountainside itself—the intihuatana, or “hitching post of the sun.” He marveled at El Torreón—a graceful semicircular “tower.” A pair of three-sided temples with triple windows held him

Get Access