#32 : Machu Picchu, Peru

The best preserved Inca city, 112 km from Cuzco. It is located at an altitude of 2090-2400 m above sea level, on the pass between Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. The Urubamba River flows below. The city was built in the second half of the fifteenth century during the reign of one of the most eminent rulers Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. It was then the main ceremonial center, but also economic and defense. They were inhabited by priests, representatives of the Inca aristocracy, soldiers and guardians of the local temples. The city consisted of two parts. In one called hanman, there were: Temple of the Sun, Tomb of the Royal, Royal Palace and Intihuatana, the largest Inca holiness. The second part housed thatched houses and production workshops. On the steep slopes surrounding the city there were farm terraces with a width of 2-4 m, with vertical walls between them built of stones. The city was abandoned around 1537. The modern name of the city is a combination of mach (old) in the Quechua language and borrowed from the Spanish word pico (peak). Originally, the city was called Patallaqta, from the Kachuanian words pata (step, step) and llaqta (city).

photo source: facebook.com/Tajemnicze-Miejsca-na-Ziemi-737367156301604/

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