In my second life, can I please come back as an Inca princess??

Machu Picchu is the most recognizable site in South America, one of the Wonder's of the World, and one of the most amazing things I've experienced on this trip. It's incredible. Not just the ruins themselves, but the entire mountain range that surrounds it. None of the pictures even capture the essence of the overlapping, green mountains that seem to extend to the heavens in every direction from the site. My first thought was "Man, the Incas knew what was up."

Here's a little background info for you...Machu Picchu means "Old Peak" in Quechua (native Peruvian language). The large mountain you see in all the pictures of the site is not Machu Picchu, it's Huayna Picchu ("Young Peak"). Machu Picchu is what the site is built on, and it stands very high behind the site, which is about 8,000 feet above sea level in the Urubamba Valley of Peru. Part of what makes the site seem so majestic is the direct astronomical ties everything seems to have. For example, using the stone compasses left by the Incas (which are completely accurate), Machu Picchu appears to be situated due South and Huayna Picchu directly North. The positions of the mountains are tied to key astronomical events that the Incas celebrated. The site seems to hold a perfect center of gravity in the valley, and standing there, you can certainly understand why so many people claim that the Incas possessed a certain power that we will never comprehend.

The Incas started building it around 1460 AD and it was abandoned about 100 years later when the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire. The Spanish never discovered it, and consequently the site was not plundered or destroyed by them. Hiram Bingham discovered the site in 1911 and brought it to worldwide attention. There is some evidence that others had stumbled across it in the 1800s, but that is still debatable. However, Bingham did find farmers living on the site in 1911. However, they were living there in secrecy, and had no intention of telling anyone about this lost Inca city. There are no written records to determine the actual name or purpose of the site. Some hypotheses are that the site was a religious meca, a fortress, a prison, or simply just a place for the Incas to party! Much of the information we do know was determined from the artifacts and mummies left behind.

The ruins consist of typical Inca construction - ashlar - in which stones are cut to fit together tightly WITHOUT mortar. Keep in mind, Peru is on a huge fault line and earthquake activity is frequent, so they fact that many of these buildings have remained intact for over 500 years is incredible! The Incas also constructed buildings and door frames in trapezoidal shapes to overcome the seismic activity. They also NEVER used the wheel, and some of the stones weigh more than 10 cars, so clearly they were much more advanced than we could ever imagine.

My friends and I spent the entire day at the site (it's much larger than it seems, and there are a TON of stairs to climb). We walked around and saw all the important buildings - the Intihuatana (the astronomical clock of the Incas), the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Then we decided to do the 2 hour hike to El Puerto del Sol (The Gateway of the Sun) which is
almost 10,000 feet above sea level!! Once we got to the top, we just sat at the edge and looked down at Machu Picchu (which looked really really tiny) and the rest of the valley. I had chills going up my spine as I looked out into the deep valley, but it was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life.