MACCHU PICCHU

Machu Picchu (Machu Pikchu AFI: in Quechua, "Old Mountain") is the

contemporary name given to a llaqta -an ancient Andean-Inca town built before
the fifteenth century on the rocky promontory that joins the mountains Machu
Picchu, Putucusi and Huayna Picchu on the eastern slope of the Central
mountain range, south of Peru and at 2490 masl, altitude of its main square. Its
original name would have been Llaqtapata.

Geographic location

It is located at 13º 9 '47 "south latitude and 72º 32' 44" west longitude. It is part
of the district of the same name, in the province of Urubamba, in the department
of Cuzco, in Peru. The closest important city is Cuzco, current regional capital
and former capital of the Incas, 132 km away.

The Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains are part of a large orographic
formation known as the Vilcabamba batholith, in the Central Cordillera of the
Peruvian Andes. They are located on the left bank of the so-called Urubamba
Canyon, formerly known as Quebrada de Picchu.

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Forms of access

The archaeological zone is accessible, either from the post-Inca roads that reach
it, or using the Hiram Bingham road (which ascends the hill slope Machu Picchu
from the Puente Ruinas train station, located at the bottom of the canyon). Neither
of the two forms exempts the visitor from the entrance price to the complex.

The aforementioned highway, however, is not integrated into the national road
network of Peru. Born in the town of Aguas Calientes, which in turn can only be
accessed by rail (about three hours from Cuzco) 10 or helicopter (30 minutes
from Cuzco). The absence of a direct highway to the sanctuary of Machu Picchu
is intentional and allows controlling the flow of visitors to the area, which, given
its character of national reserve, is particularly sensitive to crowds. This, however,
has not prevented the disorderly growth (criticized by the cultural authorities) of
Aguas Calientes, which lives for and for tourism, as there are hotels and
restaurants of different categories in this place.

Weather

The temperature is warm and humid during the day and cool at night. The
temperature ranges between 12 and 24 degrees Celsius. The area in general is
very rainy, especially between November and March. The rains, which are
copious, alternate rapidly with moments of intense solar brightness.

Geography

The set of the archaeological site has been built on the Vilcabamba batholith,
composed of intrusive rocks that date approximately 250 million years ago,
Permian-Triassic intrusive mainly from white to grayish granite, cut by some veins
of tonalites and talceschistos. The granite massif is cut by a series of faults and
diaclases that play an important role in the current shape of the relief and its
evolution. In the Geological Map of the Machu Picchu Quadrangle (27-q) of the
Mining and Metallurgical Geological Institute of Peru there are two major regional
fault lines that cut the area, called Fallas Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu,
oriented NE-SO. These failures have not had recent activity.

History

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The Picchu ravine, located halfway between the Andes and the Amazon forest,
was a region colonized by Andean, non-jungle populations, coming from the
regions of Vilcabamba and the Sacred Valley, in Cuzco, in search of an
expansion of their borders agrarian Archaeological evidence indicates that
agriculture was practiced in the region since at least 760 BC. C. A population
explosion occurs from the Middle Horizon Period, from the year 900 of our era,
by groups not historically documented but possibly linked to the Tampu ethnic
group of the Urubamba. It is believed that these people could have been part of
the Ayarmaca federation, rivals of the first Incas of Cuzco. During this period the
"built" agricultural area (platforms) expanded considerably. However, the specific
location of the city in question (the rocky ridge that joins the Machu Picchu and
Huayna Picchu mountains) shows no signs of having had buildings before the
fifteenth century.

Description

The area built in Machu Picchu is 530 meters long by 200 wide and includes at
least 172 enclosures. The complex is clearly divided into two large areas: the
agricultural zone, formed by sets of cultivation terraces, located to the south; and
the urban area, which is, of course, the one where the occupants lived and where
the main civil and religious activities took place. Both zones are separated by a
wall, a moat and a stairway, elements that run parallel to the east slope of the
mountain. An appreciable part of the ruins that can be seen today are actually
recent reconstructions, as can be seen when comparing the images obtained in
the 1910s with the current ones.