After three days of hiking, camping and altitude on the Lares Trek, we were ready and excited to see Machu Picchu for the first time. It was our last Wonder of the World that we would see on our trip, and I thought it was the best!
We climbed up a small (compared to the mountains we have climbed) hill so that we could get the best views of all of Machu Picchu. It was spectacular!
We took some group photos and then Elvis told us information about this Incan wonder.
In 1911, an archeologist, Hiram Bingham, came to Machu Picchu by accident. He was looking for a “Lost Incan city” called Vilcabamba and thought Machu Picchu was it – but he was mistaken. The settlement was built for royalty, but had been abandoned when the Spanish invaded.
What I found interesting about Hiram is that he was the inspiration behind the character Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark series. To prepare for our visit to the Wonder of Petra in Jordan, we had watched the the third Indiana Jone movie about the holy grail and Petra. We didn’t realize, he was better connected to the Wonder in Peru.
Machu Picchu means “old mountain” and was not the original name of the sight. We don’t know the original name, that remains a mystery for now. The famous mountain that you see in all the photos of Machu Picchu, is called “Huaina Picchu” and means “young mountain”. Between the Old mountain and the Young mountain is the Incan city.
It is said that only royalty lived in the Incan city at the top of the mountain. When the Spanish came and attacked the Empire, they conquered Cusco and the valley surrounding it, but never went up the mountains which is why it remained abandoned for so long.
After Elvis told us this information, he brought us into the Incan city. We were so amazed at how perfect every wall was built.
One of my questions about the structures in the Incan city is, “How did the Incans build everything so perfectly that they don’t need to use mortar for constructing? Furthermore, how do the walls stay intact after so many earthquakes?
What do you think?
What we discovered is that there are some interesting similarities between the Chinese, Egyptian and Incan civilizations:
1. They all built structures with pyramid shapes;
2. They all used huge stones but did not have modern day technology to transport them, or modify them;
3. They all used the stars as calendars, for direction, weather prediction etc…
Elvis proposed a theory linked to the lost city of Atlantis. He says that when the water covered Atlantis, the survivors moved to different continents around the world, and brought their expertise and technology to their new homes.
We will never know. It is a mystery.
What is your theory?
After seeing the structures and walls, Elvis and Rony took us to see some temples. One of my favourites was the Sun Temple. It is circular and has two windows. In June, during the winter solstice on the shortest day of the year, the sun shines through one window. During the summer solstice, on the longest day of the year in December, the sun shines perfectly through the other window.
The temple below it was also interesting because it had three steps (chakana) on the side of the entrance representing Heaven, Earth and the Underworld. Bodies were found in this temple that were mummified, which was very similar to the Egyptian civilization….How is this possible?
The following two things really interested me because they are so mysterious.
Mysterious Room
There is a rectangular room with three walls and an altar. When Hiram Bingham arrived, there were many idols on the altar, but they are not there today, because they were moved to museums in Europe and the United States of America. Nobody knows what this room was used for which is why it is mysterious.
The Incan Compass
Right beside the mysterious room was a diamond shaped rock. It is called the Incan Compass. The four points of the stone, point exactly North, South, East and West. It is amazing because the Incans did not have compasses to angle the rock so perfectly….How did they do this? I want to know!!:)
We have now been to 5 out of the 7 Man-made Wonders of the World: The Colosseum, Petra, The Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu. All of them were awesome, but I think this was the most interesting one because it is so mysterious.
Many things in the Incan city are yet to be discovered. For now all we can do is imagine…
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