Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu! Wow! What a place! Who could forget that?



So the Incas used Machu Picchu as a center of commerce, center of spirituality, believed it to be located at the center of astrological events, and a retreat for the Inca elite. It was build around 1450. The Incas must have been a bunch of crazy people because there are many area's around the ruins that are VERY exposed! There are a few ledges where if you fell it seems like you wouldn't stop until you hit the river.

So after arriving, we started the first day at the ruins with a guided tour. The tour started on a WOW moment. We walked up a steep trail (they are all steep) to the typical Machu Picchu photo ledge at the southern end of the ruins. The photo above was taken from this ledge, but we came back later in the afternoon during the golden hour of sunset to capture it. After a few minutes we continued on to the southern part of the ruins that maked up the "head" of the condor. There are horseshoe shaped terraces here that according to experts served no purpose other than to make the city look like a condor from the peak of Wayna Picchu.

The ruins do have grounds keepers that help fend off the jungle, but nature provided the lawn mowers! There was a llama farm at Machu Picchu. These animals were most likely used for hauling goods until the horse/donkey came around. They are very domesticated and love wandering the terraces!



We passed the rock quarry and entered "The city gates" into the urban section of the ruins. The Inca's had in depth knowledge of the behavior of the sun and the relationship between themselves, the sun, and the land. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes. On these dates at a specific time of day there are no shadows cast by the pillar. The stone is also aligned with both magnetic and true north indicators. Many feel this stone is a focal point of magnetism on earth, but its hard not to feel something different and special standing in such a beautiful place.



From here we made our way through the Main Square over to the north end of the ruins. The stone wall work on the west side city is not the greatest the Incas ever created, but still great looking and had lasted over 500 years.



At the very north tip of the ruins is the entrance to the Wayna Picchu trail and the Sacred stone. The stone is thought to have special healing powers, and by simply placing you hand on the stone your problems will be washed away. Penny and I enjoyed a 45 minute break here before climbing Wayna Picchu on the following day.



We turned around and headed back south along the eastern side towards the Houses of Factories and the Industrial area. The stone work along the walk way here is a perfect place to try out the "credit card" trick. Incas were capable us such precise stone work that you could not slip a credit card between the cracks in the rock.



More on Machu Picchu soon!