If I heard “Macchu Pichu” five days ago, the first thought that would come into my mind was “oh, the lost city that looks like a maze made of stone.” As a group, we traveled about 12 hours for the trip to Macchu Pichu. I was not too sure what it would be like, despite my preconceptions. After our first 6 hours of travel, we hiked about ten minutes up a winding stone path and I was rewarded with the most breathtaking site I have ever seen in person. To me, Macchu Pichu looked like I was watching a movie on a huge screen and its beauty was not real. I was definitely wrong. Besides its beauty, Macchu Pichu holds serious history between its stones.

This is known as Machu Picchu to tourists, but to indigenous people, the city that this mystery is located in in called Machu Picchu. According to Valentine, our tour guide, the highest mountain in this picture is called “Young Mountain” and the mountain directly behind me in this picture is called “Old Mountain.” This region is known as “The Lost Incan City.” According to Valentine, this area is not composed of Incan “ruins”; it is a city.

According to Valentine, no current historians truly understand the purpose for this city. Many people believe that this city was used as a safe sanctuary for the Inca elite. Valentine explained that there were originally only 8 entrances to this site built in a valley surrounded by Andes Mountains. This area is also known as the beginning of the jungle.   Interestingly, archeologists have only found 5 trails into the city. Three of these paths are currently used by tourists. The remaining two paths lead to different cities and require nearly a week of travel. Also according to historians, these paths were small and hidden for defense purposes. For instance, there was a lookout point for this city and if there was an intruder, it would be easy to stop because Incans would be able to see them early.

This rock is known as the “sacred rock.” Our tour guide asked us to pick the most sacred animal in Peru, and that was what this natural rock represented. The animal is guinea pig! In the valley of Macchu Pichu, the Incans worshiped this natural rock

formation as guinea pig.

This area has become extremely tourist-centered. As you can see in the picture above, there were animals that were people-friendly. This is a baby llama that hangs out and walks around with people. Additionally, there are tours going on constantly. One frustrating thing about our tour was that I could hardly take pictures or see things because there was another tour group (or two) looking at the same thing. At the bottom of the city of Machu Picchu, venders sell post cards, authentic Peruvain goods, and food. Although this lost city is crowded by tourists, it does benefit the country from a monetary viewpoint. According to the travel website Peru: Empire of Hidden Treasures, Macchu Picchu is “the most important and beautiful legacy of the ancient Peruvian, is part of the Historic Sanctuary of the same name, which is also one of the few places in the Americas placed on both the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Lists by UNESCO.” This area attracts many tourists each year, creating revenue for the country of Peru. I definitely recommend visiting this amazing site of the lost city, and explore the magic behind the stones. 

Lauren