THE SCOOP

          Machu Picchu is an amazing historical landmark located high in the Andes Mountains, above the Urubamba River valley in Peru. This mysterious citadel was built by the Incas in the 15th century and was mainly built with stone that wasn´t carved, but was instead matched with other perfectly parallel boulders to form symmetrical walls. Many archeologists believe that this was a temple built for the Inca emperor Pachacuti.

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          As mentioned before, the Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later when the Spanish came to South America to conquer land. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spaniards during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until an American historian named Hiram Bingham made it known in 1911. When Machu Picchu was detected by the historian it looked nothing like it does nowadays. The structure was humid, full of moss and infested by various parasitic plants, leaving it almost in ruins. Fortunately Bingham, with the help of the Peruvian government, started to clean and excavate the area. Various invaluable crafts were found on many of the structures found in the citadel.

After all of the landmarks were “clean”, Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Later on, it started to catch the attention of various tourists as a historical monument, and was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll in 2007.

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          Machu Picchu is a truly amazing place that can be visited in two ways. One of them is “El Camino del Inca”, an amazing 3 day long walking trail that leads to Machu Picchu. People who experience this, often say that this is a must-do spiritual journey. The other way to get to the landmark is to go by bus and train. This process consists of an hour long journey from Cusco to a train station by bus, and then an hour and a half travel from the station to Aguas Calientes. This is a town that counts with amazing hotels and surprisingly good restaurants. From this town you go through another hour long bus travel to finally get to Machu Picchu.

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          The archeological position and perfectly arranged geometric panoramic arrangements, among other unexplainable variables, provide a magical aura that can be sensed as soon as you get into the beautiful citadel. Each section (Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows) that the sanctuary has is unique, but it is still familiar at the same time. You can spend all day long in Machu Picchu, but still feel like you are in a brand new place every time you move around it. This is a necessary travel destination if you want to learn about the Incas, the story of the Spanish conquest and also about yourself.