This a bit vintage postcard shows the panoramic view of Machu Picchu and the lamas ;). Machu Picchu is nearly invisible from below, tucked away on a small hilltop between two Andean peaks, at 7,000 feet above sea level. The fact that it lay hidden to all but a few peasants for hundreds of years adds to its mystery and intrigue. Never discovered by the Spanish or mentioned in their chronicles, Machu Picchu is the most popular, yet least well-known of the Inca monuments – the pre-Colonial cultures of Peru left no written records.
The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba river, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation.
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Satellite image of Machu Picchu
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