Machupicchu

«Crossing these terraces, I entered the virgin forest beyond, and suddenly found myself in a labyrinth of beautiful granite houses! They were covered with trees and moss and the growth of centuries, but in the dense shade, hidden in thickets of bamboo and tangled vines, could be seen here and there walls of white granite ashlars carefully cut and exquisitely fitted together."

Hiram Bingham, reflecting on his first arrival at Machu Picchu on July 24, 1911

• Machu Picchu is the main tourist destination in Peru, and it is magnificent, never a disappointment. It is one of the best views in the world and is sure to be the pinnacle of any trip to Peru. 70 km northwest of Cusco, Machu Picchu is often referred to as the "lost city of the Incas." The outside world and even some Peruvians forgot about it for centuries, and it was brought to international prominence by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham along with the National Geographic Society of Washington DC a century ago. It was the latter who organized a subsequent two-year excavation and the beginning of the restoration.
• Its fascination is due in part to its position, high on a mountain ridge, 2,430m/7,972ft above sea level. There is also the beauty of the ruins themselves. Some experts agree that the Sanctuary was a llacta, a settlement built to control the economies of neighboring regions, and this was the most beautiful llacta built by the Incas. Most authorities agree that it was a royal estate of Pachacuti, the great Inca who began the expansion of the enormous empire.
  «The city that emerged was a place of magical beauty. It contains many buildings at the best crossroads of Inca masonry. But the remarkable unity and state of preservation of Machu Picchu are so satisfying for a visitor. Here, intact to the roof line, are the houses, temples and buildings of an entire Inca city. Clusters of houses are set amid banks of neat agricultural terraces, and Machu Picchu is linked by a network of paths and hundreds of stairs. Its location is fantastic, with the town clinging to the upper slope and the crest of a narrow ridge.
• The sheer sugarloaf of Huayna Picchu rises like a rhino horn at the end of the spit, and the Urubamba roars in a tight curvature around the site, trapped in a green canyon hundreds of feet below. Steep, forested hills rise around Machu Picchu, and their mystery is increased by great storm clouds that cling to these humid mountains. «-Extract from The Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming, first published in 1970.