Machu Picchu - 2005-10-31-MP

   Machu Picchu (Quechua: Old Mountain) is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located on a high mountain ridge, at an elevation of about 2,350 m (7,710 ft). Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in modern-day Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cuzco. To arrive there, you travel for about 3 1/2 hours via train and then take a winding road by bus for about 30 minutes. It is thought the city was built by the Sapa Inca Pachacuti starting in about 1440 and was inhabited until the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. Archeological evidence (together with recent work on early colonial documents) shows that Machu Picchu was not a conventional city, but a country retreat town for Inca nobility (similar to the Roman villas). It is possible to travel to Machu Picchu via the "Inka Trail", which by walking takes about a week from Cuzco. The largest nearby peak is Huayna Picchu (meaning Young Mountain in Quechua). On July 24, 1911, Machu Picchu was brought to the attention of the West in the person of Hiram Bingham, an American historian then employed as a lecturer at Yale University. He was led there by locals who frequented the site.

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