Machu Picchu, the symbol of Peru, is one of the country’s most important values. Even though how and why this mysterious city was built is still being investigated today, this miraculous city of the Incas deserved to enter the 7 7 Wonders of the World ’. Here is our Machu Picchu travel guide that adorns our dreams.
When planning our trip to Machu Picchu, we also explored how to reach the city in addition to the important points in this city. There are different alternatives to reach the city; 3- We opted to travel by train with our four year old son, eliminating the 4-day Salkantay and Inka route alternatives with detailed hiking and camping details. In the meantime, a small detail, as well as the path to Machu Picchu itself is beautiful.
This city, built by the Incans and hiding in the Andes until the 1900s, is located in the Sacred Valley, the starting point of Cusco. In the 16th century, Cusco and the Spaniards who occupied this area overlook Machu Picchu, hidden among the trees, did not realize the city. The city was discovered in 1911 by an American historian named Hiram Bingham.
The first stop on our way to reach Machu Picchu was Cusco. If you say, Where is Cusco? In other words, we can explain the city that makes him admire. Every beauty alone has a flaw; Since Cusco is a city built at 3500 meters, the risk of high-altitude relapsing at high points has made us somewhat uneasy about this city. For this reason, after landing our plane to Cusco, we decided to spend the night in Ollantaytambo, which is two hours away from the altitude, in order not to be affected by the altitude.
If we wish, we can reach this point by train, we chose to go by car to fill the air of the holy valley to our lungs and to wander in the landscape which is like a painting. After spending our first night in Ollantaytambo, we set off on our train, unaware that we would make one of the most enjoyable trips of our lives the next day. On the advice of everyone, we preferred the panoramic glass train, which is a good thing we did.
The Urubamba River that accompanied us along the way, the summit of the Andes, the snowy misty spots, the thousand colors of nature, Mach The roads that came to you were also very beautiful, Machu Picchu ”. Even though our round trip tickets are the highest item of this tour, which is an average of $200, our train journey will always remain in our mind with good memories. When our train arrived at the last stop, Aguas Calientes, we were on the last level for Machu Picchu, we would spend the night in our hotel here, we fell asleep as soon as we could.
The next morning, we were on the bus line in the morning to meet the sunrise in Machu Picchu. Although it was still dark when we woke up and departed, Efe waited smoothly during the bus. When it’s our turn, we’ve taken our place on the bus that will take us from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu in about 20 minutes. Zigzag on the edge of the cliff, climbing on this road you climb behind each excitement increased a little more.
Since the entrance to the city is limited by 2500 people on average by Unesco, we bought our ticket in advance, so we got through the check-in relatively easily. In order to better understand the city and the Inca Empire, we agreed with one of the guides waiting for us at the entrance and we were ready.
After entering the area, we climb up a steep hill for about 10 minutes in order to reach the magnificent view that we see in the photographs. Although this episode was a bit compelling for the first Efe, the expression on his face was or worth everything ’when he raised his head at the end of this climb. We have experienced the same expressions of astonishment and fascination many times that day how to get away from everyone who reached that point. A light breeze on your face where you raise your head, the sun rising through the mountains, the smoky rooms facing you in all its glory, and the city of Machu Picchu, which is built there for 100 years in order to meet her at least once.
We enjoyed dozens of details that supported us visually as we started to wander slowly, both enjoying this unique view and listening to our guide. Here are some details about Machu Picchu; The city is thought to have been built by the Inca ruler Pachacutec Yupanqui in the 1450s. There are different theories about the cause; the king is a summer residence and retreat.
Since this region is an earthquake zone, the city is built with blocks of stones called Ashlar, which fit together perfectly. It takes about 3-4 months to process each stone to match each other, and there is no mortar between the matching stones like 2 puzzle pieces. In this way, even in the most severe earthquake waves, the stones released with tremendous harmony survive the natural disaster with minimal damage.
The three most important buildings of the city are Inti Watana Sun Stone, Sun Temple and 3 Glazed Rooms. In Machu Picchu, everything is built with the Sun focus, which is sacred to the Inca. The Intı Watana sunstone was believed to keep the sun in orbit during the year. According to the fall of the sun and the length of the shade formed on this stone, months and seasons were determined. In the Incas, the sun is believed to form both a religious and an astrological calendar.
A terrace system was developed for agriculture in the city. This method, which you can come across at many points in the sacred valley, prevents erosion, landslides and floods. Since the temperature of each layer is different, the product variety is also high. The best use of sunlight in these areas, grown, potatoes, apples, corn, such as the city’s colder Amazon mountains can be stored in the warehouse for up to 20 years.
The city is divided into two areas as agricultural and settlement areas and houses, temples and sacred places are located in the city. As we went through different gates and disappeared in this region, the workmanship on the stones increased our sympathy for Machu Picchu. Efe was particularly impressed by the sound waves emitted from the gaps, such as tiny closed windows formed between the walls of the houses, and the clear sound from one wall of the house.
One of the areas that attracted our interest while wandering the city was the Viracocha Temple. Stones on one corner of this wall, which was built to regulate water flows and could not be completed for different reasons, could not be aligned and constantly slipped. The king’s fights, which coincided with the same period, were interpreted by the Inca people as having been cursed by the Incan people and had to leave this city for the ominous to go. After this event, the beautiful city was gradually abandoned and almost no family left. That is why when Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911, there was only one family in the city.
Although the reason for the abandonment of this beautiful city is a little burks inside us, you can come across us and Machu Picchu’da plenty of lama fulfilled our enjoyment. I think the most beautiful detail of our tour was the llama accompanying us on our trip. Efe fainted, we were a little uneasy whether he spit, but we did not experience an unpleasant event, I have to admit they were very cute.
Nowadays, this city, which is home to hundreds of tourists and lamas at night and only cougar, is under protection by Unesco. The number of people entering the city during the day is limited because the city is slowly sinking into the ground. According to our guide, crashes may start in certain parts of the city within 50 years. That’s why Machu Picchu is one of the unforgettable World Wonders of the world.
We spent our hours learning dozens of information on each ladder, every house we visited, in fields, temples, Machu Picchu … We completed one of the most enjoyable experiences of our lives with many beautiful memories. On the way back, we went through the bends and twisted, it was difficult to say goodbye to the miraculous city of the Incas…
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