Machu Picchu
MP is an old town built by Incas. It is situated in Peru, on a mountain ridge above Urubama Valley about 2,430 metres above the sea level. It is one of the symbols of the Inca Empire.
MP means The old Peak and it is also known as The lost city of Incas.
It was built in 15th century AD, at the height of the Inca Empire, but noone exactly knows why. Historians think, that it was built for the Sun God and his bridges, who were the most beautiful young women in the Empire. Fact is that there were found more than 100 sceletons of women and just few of men. Unfortunately, the city was abandoned in less than 100 years, because local inhabitants were probably wiped out by smallpox just before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in that area. After that Machu Pikchu had fallen into the forgetness and it was discovered again on 24th of July in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. He also named it MP, because it˘s original name had been forgotten centuries ago.
The town of MP consists of 140 buildings, including temples, parks and residences which are connected with pavements and stairs made of stone. There are also some fountains and water canals. In the centre of the town is one of the most beautiful temples in the world. It is called Temple of the sun and it is like a pyramid made of stone. Nearby is situated the Room of three windows and Intihuatana, too. Temple of sun and room of three windows were used in several religious ceremonies and Intihuatana was monolit made of granite, which was used as a watch, calendar and observatory.
Nowadays MP ranks to the most visited places in Peru and the goverment tries to limit the number of visitors with rising fees, but the crowd of tourists is still bigger and bigger.
