city of Machu Picchu. The city is located high up in the mountains, 2450 meters above

sea level, between the two mountain peaks "Huayana Picchu" and "Machu Picchu". The former

means "Young Mountain" and the later, which has given the city its name, means "Ancient

Mountain". The remarkable ruins of the city were rediscovered in 1911 by the American

archeologist and professor, Hiram Bingham. Even though it's debated whether or not he

was the first foreigner to visit Machu Picchu, Bingham was the one who brought Machu Picchu

to the outside world. Today Machu Picchu is visited by hundreds of thousands of people

each year. The remains of this ancient city is considered one of the worlds true wonders,

as it has been voted into the official "The seven wonders of the world"-list.

"The lost city of the Incas", as it is often called, is not as old as many people think.

The city was constructed by the Incas around 1430AD but to what purpose is unknown. Some

believe the city was constructed simply as a recreation place for the Inca emperor Pachacuti

and other important Incas. Another theory is that it was used as a retreat, hence the

hidden location high up in the mountains. Others say it was used as a temple to the

gods and as a hub between other sacred Inca sites.

Machu Picchu is made up of two main areas; the agricultural area and the urban area.

The agricultural area is made up of the terraces that are so typical for Machu Picchu. These

terraces were used to grow the crops needed to feed the inhabitants of the city. There

was more than enough space to grow crops to feed the maximum number of inhabitants in

the city. Even though it might seem unpractical to grow crops high up in the mountains, it

was actually not that hard. One thing that made this possible was that the crops did

not need any irrigation, due to the constant rains and ever-present humidity. Another purpose

of the terraces was also to help reduce the risk of erosion caused by the rain.

The urban part of the city is made up of temples, palaces, storehouses, workshops, stairways

and living quarters. The architectural design was based on the capital of the Inca Empire,

Cusco. The constructions through out the city follow the natural curves of the land, which

makes the city and its surrounding blend so magically well together. The Incas architectural

skills, and their masonry in particular, is something truly amazing. On all but the least

important buildings, the Incas did not use any mortar when constructing the houses and

temples. This allowed to stones to move slightly which made it more resistant to earthquakes.

However, this also required much more skill from the masons, as the stones need to be

shaped to fit each other more precisely. Some junctions in the central city are so perfect

that not even a straw of grass fits between the stones.

Regardless of its main purpose, it is known that Machu Picchu served as a shrine to the

gods and as a place of worship to the mountains surrounding it. Through the urban part of

the city, "replica stones" can be found. These stones have been shaped to match the mountains

behind them, which show the Incas devotion to the mountains and the mountain god "Apo".

Another key place in Machu Picchu, located on one of the northeast hills, is the Intiwatana

stone. In the native language, Quechua, "inti" means "sun" and "wata" "year". This describes

one of the specific functions of this stone. Researchers believe the Incas used it as an

astronomic clock or a calendar, by looking at the movement of the shadow cast by the

stone during sunlight. The stone was also believed to serve as an altar and shrine to

the gods. To many researchers surprise, Machu Picchu

seems to have been abandoned by the Incas only 100 years after its construction. There

is clear evidence that the Spanish never found Machu Picchu, which indicates that the city

was abandoned before the Spanish conquer of the Inca Empire. Why they abandoned the city

is still very much unknown. Theories suggest that diseases such as small pox killed much

of its population, which made the city too hard and expensive to maintain. Other suggests

that they abandoned the city in order to please the gods, after the death of the Inca leader

Pachacuti. As the Incas did not write anything down for

the afterworld the read, much is still unknown about the Inca Empire in general and Machu

Picchu in particular. What the true purpose of the city was, how they lived and why it

eventually was abandoned will forever, just like Machu Picchu itself, be covered in clouds

of mystery.