Machu Picchu locatie

Its location was a local mystery for centuries. Even the spanish conquerors didn´t know nothing but rumors about the lost city of the Incas, hidden somewhere into the deeper region of an impenetrable forest. But many years later, the same wall of vegetation and rocky giants opened their secrets to an exploration team, led by the american explorer Dr. Hiram Bingham in 1911. Since then, thousands of fortunate visitors know exactly where Machu Picchu is located. They won´t forget its location for the rest of their lives. In a politic map, the Machu Picchu citadel is located in Cusco- Peru, in the province of Urubamba, district of Machu Picchu. In a geographic map, Machu Picchu is located in the southern Andes of Peru, 130 kilometers from the Cusco city and 2,440 meters above the sea level. In an ecologic map, it is part of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary, a 35,000 hectares natural reserve that shelters millions of animal and vegetal species, hundreds of them endemic. If you have a GPS gadget, you could adjust it with geographic data at 13º 9′ 47″south and 72º 32′ 44″ west, to get its precise location. And finally, in a spiritual and cosmologic map, this magic ruins are located at one of the main planet energy system´s spot. That´s why Machu Picchu is known as “the navel of the world”. The beauty of the place results from the diversity of its geography, life and weather elements in the region, like the Urubamba river, a furious snake of water and rocks that fertilize the Machu Picchu mountain, flowing some 450 meters below the 10 hectares suface citadel. The 2440 meters above the seal evel altitude of the ruins is perfect, because it puts the most exotic wonder of nature in sight . But even today getting there is not so easy. That is deliberate, aimed to control and protect the delicate natural balanced of this ecosystem. The citadel ruins can be reached only by bus climbing the zig-zag-shaped Hiram Bingham´s trail from Aguas Calientes, a small village that guards the access to Machu Picchu; or by trekking, following many of the endless routes of the Inca trail. Even Aguas Calientes is not fully connected with modern civilization. The only links from its location to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca´s Empire, are the train railways or a helicopter fly. Machu Picchu is located in a mountainous region geographically classified like a cloudy forest, because the perpetual mist that floats over the treetops characterize the view, especially from May to September. Colossal mountains draw a curious circle surrounding Machu Picchu´s location, reminding us of a great wall, like if nature made them intentionally to protect that magic site. They are mainly made of granitic rocks, hundreds of millions of years old, from the Paleozoic Era. One of those mountains is the Hayna Picchu (young mountain); the towering, solid green cone that seems to shelter the ruins like a bodyguard, monitoring any threat against its older sister. The Wayna Picchu is connected to the citadel site by a thin piece of rock. Up in its throat there is an Inca platform supposedly used in inca times as a checkpoint and for very special ceremonies in Machu Picchu. The Wayna Picchu seems like cut by a sharp knife, and its hillsides doesn´t stop until they dive deep in the Urubamba river, almost seven hundred meters from the top. The sight from the top of Wayna Picchu is magnificent and it´s worth the very hard climbing struggle to get there, by far. Other mountains also appear as the region sentinels at the background of the view, like San Miguel and Putukusi mountains, to the right. Looking back, there is the rest of the whole Machu Picchu mountain, with the Intipunku (The Gate of the Sun) ruins right at the top, in a location one kilometer far from the citadel. Those are some of the silent giants of this wonderful place, full of life and history. The closest territory occupied by humans is Aguas Calientes, a small village where visitors could find a variety of craft and souvenirs made by the villagers. There is also a complete supply of hotels and restaurants, from the luxurious to the modest, providing an option for every kind of traveler. Aguas Calientes is located fifteen minutes from the citadel of Machu Picchu by bus, and it´s the only nexus to Cusco city, only reached by train or helicopter. The main train station is located right in its center, with the railways cutting the town in the middle. In recent years, the community made several efforts to organize itself, despite some mess related to the village expansion with illegal constructions that posed a danger to the environment of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary and an unpleasant visual experience for the visitors. Fortunately, the common sense prevailed. But nature has no common sense. The last weather disruption in the climate has also affected the region of Machu Picchu, boosting the Urubamba river with historic records of water flow and posing a huge rebuilding challenge to local residents and the top authorities of the country. The response was fast and arrangements to avoid another calamity have been displayed. So, Machu Picchu is located in a pretty wild region. It´s also an example of the indomitable personality of The Andes, constantly puzzling the human inventive and challenging their development efforts and live for thousands of years. Machu Picchu is a symbol of the supremacy of nature over mankind. You just have to be there, with the mountains, the river and the ruins surrounding you to understand the ultimate lesson for us: the power of Nature will prevail.