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By Martin St-Amant wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about the Machu Picchu

This magnificent landmark stands at more than 7,000 feet (2.13 km) above sea level in the Andes mountains in Peru.

Machu Picchu is the most toured tourist destination in Peru.聽 It is a representation of the Incan Empire and was built around 1450AD.

It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

In the Quechua Indian language, 鈥淢achu Picchu鈥� means 鈥淥ld Peak鈥� or 鈥淥ld Mountain.鈥�

This sacred place was an Incan stronghold built high in the Andes Mountains above the Urubamba River valley.聽

It is famous for its advanced dry-stone walls that link together huge blocks without mortar.聽

The buildings on the mountain were strategically arranged to astronomical alignment and has the best panoramic views of the hills and the valley below.

Its exact former use remains a mystery.

This fascinating architecture is a testament to the peak of the Inca Empire while in power and its achievements. To date, the exact use of the fortification is still unknown.

Let鈥檚 look at the top 10 facts about the Machu Picchu

1. Men pushed the huge rocks up the mountain

During the construction of the Machu Picchu, stones were carried up the mountain by the masons.

The stones used weighed more than 50 pounds (ca. 23 kg) and it is believed that there were no tools used to carry the stones up the mountain.

Historians believe that the men at the construction site used to push the rocks up the steep side of the mountain. It must have been quite an uphill task.

2. The stones were cut o perfectly fit, no mortar was used

Photo by Mart铆n Espinoza on Unsplash

The Machu Picchu was constructed without the use of mortar. Instead, the masons were quite skilled, the stones were cut to perfectly fit together like a puzzle.

There were no tools that were used to dig up the stones and moving it up the mountain.聽

The technique used to build the citadel is called ashlar, not even the blade of a knife can fit between the stones.聽

3. The Inca Empire was the largest in pre-Columbian America

The Incas Empire did not adopt the use of wheels or animals in transporting heavy rocks up the mountain, despite this they were able to build one of the most impressive kingdoms in history.聽

There are more than 150 buildings that make up the Machu Picchu. They vary in use from temples, sanctuaries, baths and houses.聽聽

There are also more than 100 flights of stairs in Machu Picchu. Most of the stairs were cut out from one single slab of stone.

4. It can only be viewed from above

Photo by Raul Varela on Unsplash

Well this does not mean flying over it, no. Since Machu Picchu is built on top of a mountain it cannot be seen from below, one has to go up the mountain.

This was the only Incan city that was built during the Inca civilization ad survived the Spanish conquest and is still well-preserved.

Machu Picchu is South America鈥檚 most famous fortification and Peru鈥檚 most visited attraction.聽

There is a no-fly zone above the site. There鈥檚 also a visitor limit of 2,500 per day and tourists must obtain a permit and a guide to hike the Inca Trail.

5. Machu Picchu is earthquake-proof

Peru frequently gets earthquake strikes, with this in mind the masons that constructed the Machu Picchu devised a way to protect the site from destruction.

Since Machu Picchu sits on top of two fault lines, the masons designed the stones in a way that allowed them to bounce through the tremors then fall back in place.聽

This is believed to be the reason why no mortar was used in the construction, it would not have survived the earth tremors.

6. Machu Picchu was not a lost city

The American explorer Bingham has set off to Peru in search of a 鈥榣ost city鈥�. When he arrived in Peru, he was guided by local indigenous farmers up the mountain.聽

After climbing up and setting eyes on Machu Picchu, he sent word back home on his discovery.

The citadel was inhabited by several farmers who were living among the ruins.

The city was not lost at all. It was abandoned by many due to its inconvenient location.

Instead of being credited as the one who discovered Machu Picchu, Bingham is referred to as the person that introduced the world to Machu Picchu.聽

7. Artifacts from Machu Picchu and the feud between Peru and Yale聽

Photo by Mauro Lima on Unsplash

When Bingham went back home from Peru, he took with him thousands of precious artifacts from Machu Picchu.聽 They included pottery, statues, jewelry, and human remains.

His expedition was sponsored by Yale University. The university had planned a public exhibition of the artifacts. The Peruvians led by their president Alan Garcia protested it and filed a lawsuit against Yale.聽

In 2010 the two parties agreed and the first pieces were returned to Peru in 2011. The last pieces were returned in 2012 and later Peru and Yale established the UNSAAC-Yale International Center for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Culture in Cusco.

8. Machu Picchu鈥檚 construction remains a mystery

The exact reason behind the construction of Machu Picchu is still not known. There are many speculations as to what the site was for.聽

Some believe that it was a ceremonial site, a secret retreat area for women or maybe a royal estate of a reigning Inca.

Others believed it was a site for religious ceremonies to honor the founding of the Inca religion or a merger of a spiritual and official estate built in a sacred landscape.聽

The discovery of nearby graves at the site increased the speculation that Machu Picchu was a convent for the Virgins of the Sun, a group of girls selected from villages to serve in temples and were perhaps offered as human sacrifices.

These speculations were raised concerning the buildings at the site, with more than 150 buildings consisting of temples, sanctuaries, home, and baths.

A later analysis of the skeletons found an equal number of male and female, it is believed that they were likely workers at the site.

9.聽 The builders of Machu Picchu ruled a vast Empire

The Inca dynasty dominated a huge course of South America and was once the largest kingdom in the Americas in the 13th century.

The dynasty was ruled by an emperor also known as Sapa Inca believed to have descended from the sun god.聽聽

Inca was made up of many regional tribes in a 300,000square mile area. The Empire鈥檚 population was believed to be between 3 and 12 million people.

The kingdom, which was called Tahuantinsuyu, had 20,000 miles (ca. 32,187 km) of roads, provincial governors, storehouses, high-level farming, and an economic system called Mita.

Through Mita, the citizens of the Empire offered labor, goods, or military service to the state in exchange for food and protection.

10. Machu Picchu is believed to be sacred

Photo by Adrian Dascal on Unsplash

The Inca religion worshiped the sun god together with many other natural elements such as the moon, rivers and mountains.聽

The mountains were considered to be more important because of their closeness to many Inca cities and settlements.聽

The peaks of Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu, and Mount Salcantay were each linked to the sacred Intihuatana Stone, a 6-foot granite stone.

It was set near the main square of the city that is believed to have functioned as a solar clock or calendar.聽

There were other grand structures at the site that were built for religious or ceremonial purposes.

They include the Temple of the Three Windows and the Temple of the Sun, it has a window that lines up perfectly on the summer solstice.