Lost City of the Incas

The sacred pillar is constructed from large stones weighing fifty pounds or more, carved to fit meticulously and without bonding material or mortar. And since there were no wheels at this time in history it is anybody’s guess how workers managed to get these massive stones up to almost 8,000 feet of altitude. Most likely Machu Picchu was built by an emperor celebrating battles he won, but as there is no written history of those times the secrets probably will never be fully unearthed.

The pillar is built to accurately indicate the equinox twice a year when the sun shines directly over the stone without a shadow. A solar equinox is the precise moment when the sun crosses the Earth's equator and appears directly above the equator. 

It is not on top of a mountain, nor at the base. Instead, it was the well-hidden center of an Inca city between a wide terrain of mountain peaks and valleys. Consequently, Machu Picchu was never discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors. Their religious beliefs, contrasting with the Pagan Gods of the Incas, encouraged them to loot and destroy all remnants of their world in a forty-year war ending with the execution of their last known emperor, Atahualpa, in the year 1572.

American explorer, Hiram Bingham, was the first Westerner to set eyes on the elaborate stone terraces hidden deep in the Andes Mountains of Peru and it was a sight to behold. At the end of next week, on July 24th, it is one hundred and eleven years ago that a local farmer’s family allowed their eleven-year-old son to guide Bingham to the cleverly disguised ridge at almost 8,000 feet nestled between much higher mountains.

In the center of the impressive terraces and ruins is the sacred pillar, the Intihuatana Stone. Bingham never saw what visitors experience today as most of the construction was overgrown with hundreds of years of vegetation. In 1912 and again in 1915 Bingham went back to help uncover many of the buildings but a group sponsored by the Peruvian government removed most of the forestation of the site 30 years later. Even today archaeologists continue excavating and discovering more artifacts.

Machu Picchu is a mind-boggling construction of over 150 buildings, ceremonial and burial sites dating back to 1450 AD and since 1983 a UNESCO World Heritage. In 2007 this spectacular find was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the world.

There are several ways to get there, none of them easy. The most common approach is flying into the city of Cusco. Originally, a small forgotten town in the Andes, the second highest mountain range in the world after the Himalayas. As a result of the discovery of Machu Picchu, Cusco has become a major city in Peru with an international airport and a wide range of hotels. However, it is important for visitors to realize that here you are at an altitude of almost 12,000 feet. That is 3,000 feet higher than Machu Picchu.

Most people fly in from Peru’s capital, Lima, situated at 530 feet above sea-level and that is a substantial difference requiring careful acclimatization to withstand the altitude differential. 

This can be an issue with high-altitude sickness for many people arriving at the airport, and the better hotels have the option to pump in oxygen into rooms to offer a better night sleep. In this city, one of the highest in the world, and later at train stations we found people peddling rolled up coca-leaves. Chewing on them we found a pleasant relaxation relieving the dizziness caused by the altitude. 

A day in Cusco is a must and there is nothing better than to sit on a bench in the center square, Plaza de Armas, to watch the locals dressed in their colorful garb, walk the cobblestone streets and the markets offering a combination of Inca and Spanish Colonial architecture. At a special luncheon we were entertained by a show of impressive horsemanship and dressage. At night, the almost 30-foot-high Cristo Blanco is impressively lit as the outstretched arms of the statue of Jesus Christ seem to protect the city of Cusco.

To reach Machu Picchu there are many organized tours from the city by train.

The rail journey is fascinating as it leads through a narrow gorge before dropping down to the Sacred Valley. We had a private bus for the beautiful scenic drive from Cusco as far as Ollantaytambo. From there we took the train following the Urubamba River to arrive in Aguas Calientes. The scenery changes from the foothills of the Andes into the lush cloud forest are breathtaking. Small intimate hotels combine Inca and Spanish history offering a relaxing night before visiting Machu Picchu in the early morning. We stayed overnight at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel Inn. From the minibus station it is a twenty-minute ride up a scary hairpin dirt road. One can also walk up a steep well-maintained path for approximately two hours. And then there is the famous classic Inca Trail which can be hiked up to the spectacular site of Machu Picchu in four or five days. However, this has become so popular that the Peruvian Government has restricted permits to five hundred a day! Despite the controls, I saw long lines on the trail that made one wonder how anyone could really enjoy the nature along the trail with that many people. That said, once inside the gates at Machu Picchu there are remarkably wide-open spaces to fully embrace the amazing construction involved in creating this secret city so long ago. A friendly alpaca curiously looked at us as we made our way back for the bus ride down the mountain. An appropriate ending to a spectacular experience at this Wonder of the New World.