ATTRACTIONS

"I was left speechless" wrote Hiram Bingham, referring to the moment he discovered the ancient citadel, and since then thousands of visitors have reacted in the same way on seeing Machu Picchu for the first time. Machu Picchu is an essential place to visit for anyone who visits Cusco, and on seeing it, you, like the famous North American archaeologist, will be left speechless and won't want to leave.

The Citadel of Machu Picchu:
Machu Picchu has two sectors; an agricultural sector and a urban one. The agricultural area consists of stepped terraces used for cultivation (andenes) built on the slopes of the mountain.

The urban sector is "U" shaped and has two huge architectural groups with streets and stairwells that have a total of 3,000 steps, as well as a network of water canals suitable for domestic and irrigation use, interspersed with small squares and courtyards.

The buildings in Machu Picchu have rectangular floor spaces, but many of the enclosures, called masmas, have only three walls. They were all thatched with tree trunks and ichu (straw).

Doors and windows are enclosed in trapezoid shapes, as are the niches in the walls where idols and other objects were placed. The trapezoid shape is a typical feature of Inca architecture.

Each wall in Machu Picchu is different; even those that share the same enclosed space have dissimilar styles. The most magnificent wall is the main wall of the Templo Principal (Main Temple), where the cut and polished stones are impeccably fitted together.

The Intihuatana is also worthy of attention: a sundial made out of polished stone; as is the Torreón (Watchtower), a building with curved walls, or the Templo de las Tres Ventanas (Temple of the Three Windows).

HISTORICAL SANCTUARY

Due to its special setting in a region of Peru where the Andes and the Amazon meet, the 32,592 hectares surrounding the citadel have been declared a protected area in order to preserve the flora, fauna and geological formations, as well as the archeological monument.

The Machu Picchu Sanctuary is a precious example of Andean architecture and culture, blending effortlessly with a spectacular natural environment home to species of fauna and flora unknown elsewhere in the world.

Apart from Machu Picchu itself, there are 34 other archeological groups in the Sanctuary. They are interconnected by the ancient Inca Trail, an impressive original Inca route, which nowadays is open to visitors.

Notable amongst these sites are the Inca buildings of Runquracay, the ruins of Sacyamarca (akin to Machu Picchu), the citadel of Phuyupatamarca ("Town above the Clouds"), the ruins of Wiñay Wayna ("Eternally Young"), the Temple of the Moon and the site known as the Gran Caverna ("Great Cavern").
The flora of Machu Picchu is exuberant In the higher areas different species of high-Andean grains are found. In the low areas, trees such as the "aliso" Alnus jorullensis, "nogal" Juglans neotropica, "intimpa" Podocarpus glomeratus, "Kisuar" Buddleja incana are found. There are also 30 genus and over 90 types of different orchids.

Among the fauna of Machupicchu we find birds such as the "condor" (Vultur gryphus) and diverse species of hummingbirds, and felines such as pumas (Felis concolor) or the "tigrillo" (Felis pardalis). You can also see a few species of monkeys and ophidians of the Bothrops species. The Sanctuary is also a haven species in danger of extinction, such as the "rock hen" ("gallito de las rocas"), the "spectacled bear" ("oso de anteojos"), the otter and the mountain cat.