Machu Picchu

The sacred city of Machu Picchu (in Quechua: old mountain) is the greatest Inca masterpiece. Incredibly daring and inventive, it was built on the most difficult, wild and inaccessible mountain area available. It is known world-wide not only for its impressive and unique ruins, but also for its unusual location on the edge of an abyss, from which one can appreciate the vigorous waters of the Urubamba river.
I wonder how the Incas were able to carry the huge blocks of stone to the top of the mountain and build such a spectacular exponent of their wisdom and culture remains a mystery to this day.
Of religious and military origin, the sacred city of Machu Picchu was enclosed by a 6-meter high by 1.8 wide wall. According …show more content…
It is the result of a mixture of unique experiences, where the work of human beings marvelously blends with the work of nature. The uneven topography was transformed into terraces with agricultural and urban functions. The landscape embraces at least two frozen rocky outcrops, forming a big “mock-up”, representing the surrounding landscape.
The real purpose of the Machu Picchu is not very clear, although it can be considered a holy place to which only a few people had access.
All existing research states that the city must have been inhabited from the end of the 15th till the middle of the 16th century. Some historians believe the place was part of the Inca Pachacutec’s country abode and that several palaces from which some carved stones still remain must have been destined as his court.
It is also assumed that the Incas built the fortress to protect themselves from the Spaniards, and it was a “barracks” used by Manco Capac 11. Others explain its function as a city of vestal virgins, since most of the human remains found were female. Whatever the explanation, there must have been some good reason to justify such a laborious construction, involving the transporting of huge blocks of stone up the mountain, as well as a good reason for its sudden desertion.
Judging by the number of rooms, the city must have been inhabited by at least hundreds of people, and there is no clue to the