Machu Picchu is a site located 2,430 meters(7,970 feet) above the sea level.It is situated on mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru,which is 80 kms(50 miles) northwest of Cusco,Urubamba River flows through the mountain.
Archaeological Belief
Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1472).It is also called as "The Lost City of the Incas".it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.
History
The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers,for almost a century during the time of Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.Although it was known locally it was unknown to the world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American Historian Hiram Bingham.Since then Machu Picchu has become a huge tourist attraction.
Intihuatana stone(The Hitching point of sun)
The place where Intihuatana stone is placed is called as "The Hitching point of sun" because the stone was believed to hold the sun in its place along its annual path in the sky.At midway on March 21 and September 21,the equinox(it comes twice every year when the sun being in the same place as the earths equator) the sun stands almost above the pillar,casting no shadow at all.Researchers believe that it was built as an astronomic clock or calender.
Condition
In January 2010,heavy rains caused flooding which buried or washed away roads and railways leading Machu Picchu,trapping almost 2,000 tourists and 2,000 locals.The place was temporarily closed but it was later re opened on February 20,2010 after the renovation work.It was opened for the tourists on April 1,2010.
