1.What is Machu Picchu?

Do you know Machu Picchu?
Probably you have heard the name, Machu Picchu.
The animation below will show you what it is like.



However, few people know its details.
For example, its history, mystery, and life in Machu Picchu.
So I'd like you to know the details of Machu Picchu in this blog.


First of all, what is Machu Picchu?

It is a kind of ruins made of many stones, where we can see a lot of stone buildings.



Machu Picchu was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1983,
and every year many people, including Japanese, visit Machu Picchu.

2.Where is Machu Picchu?

Secondly, where is Machu Picchu?

It is in Cuzco, which was an ancient capital of Peru.

As you know, Peru is on African continent and very far from Japan.
It is about 18,500km far from Japan.





So, how can we get to Machu Picchu?

As I said, Machu Picchu is very far from Japan, so we have to use 2 planes.
After leaving Japan, we first arrive in Lima, which is a present capital of Peru, and change the plane and get to Cuzco.
From Cuzco to Machu Picchu, we can use a local train.
The train moves slowly, so we can enjoy talking and its scenery.

It takes us more than 24 hours from Japan to Machu Picchu.

3, When and by whom was Machu Picchu built?

Thirdly, when and by whom was Machu Picchu built?

Machu Picchu was built in around 1460 by Incas.



After they built Machu Picchu, it was conquered by Spanish in 1532, and it was extinct.



However, Hiram Bingham, who was an explorer,
rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911.


This is a picture taken by Hiram Bingham.



As you know, this year is 2012,
so just 100 years have passed since Machu Picchu was discovered.



Now Incan Empire Exhibition is being held in Japan.
So if you are interested in Machu Picchu, why don't you visit it?

4, What is a feature of Machu Picchu?

Then, what is a feature of Machu Picchu?


The temperature of Machu Picchu is about 22 degrees celsius on average,
so living in Machu Picchu may be comfortable.
However, the climate change is unpredictable,
so it can start raining suddenly when you visit Machu Picchu.



The altitude of Machu Picchu is about 2400m.
Mt. Fuji is 3886m high,
so we can say Machu Picchu is high up on the mountain.

Because it is on a high mountain, we cannot see it from the base of the mountain.
This is why people couldn't find Machu Picchu for a long time.

5, What does Machu Picchu mean?

Next, what does Machu Picchu mean?


Machu Picchu means "Old Peak" in a local language, and
Wayna Picchu is also a famous peak and it means "Young Peak".


Machu Picchu is also called
"City in the sky" or "Lost city of the Incas".

As I said, Machu Picchu is high up on the mountain, so we cannot find it from the base of the mountain.
This is the reason it is called "City in the sky".




This is a book about Machu Picchu written by Hiram Bingham,
who was the first person to discover Machu Picchu.



The title of this book is "The Lost City Of the Incas",
so this is why Machu Picchu is called "Lost city of the Incas".

6. Who is Hiram Bingham?

As mentioned above, Machu Picchu was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham.
Well, who is Hiram Bingham?





He is an American explorer and a politician.

He was born in 1875, and he was dead in 1956.





He is a model of a character of a famous movie.

The movie is "Indiana Jones".

I think that you know this movie.

7. Why was Machu Picchu built?

Next, let's think about why Machu Picchu was built.

Some people say that Machu Picchu roled as a fortification.
Fortification is "Toride" in Japanese.

But, this opinion is weak, because official documents say
"Incas surrendered to Spanish at a basin."
Basin is "Bonchi" in japanese.
Machu Picchu locates on highland, so this doesn't agree with documents.


There are also people who say that Machu Picchu was a religious city.
Incas believed in God of Sun, there are temple of Sun, Sundial and so on.










Machu Picchu was built at highland, this position is good to have faith or observe Sun.
So, this opinion seems to be powerful

8. Life of Machu Picchu Ⅰ

In Machu Picchu, how did people live?
Machu Picchu wasn't an ordinary city, but roled as a summer resort for the Royal or nobles.

It was told that there were 750 people at most.
This number of people includes the Royal and nobles, so in other seasons ―spring, fall and winter―, fewer people than 750 lived in practice.


To know life of Machu Picchu, studying buried bones is an effective way.


For example, most of bones was adult, and many bones of old people were excavated.
These two points show that people who lived in Machu Picchu were healthy.

And, bones weren't damaged, so it proves that Machu Picchu was peaceful.

9. Life of Machu Picchu Ⅱ

Next, let's think about buildings.

In Machu Picchu, buildings were made from stones.
People piled so big stones, and hammered to level the surface.


But one mystery takes place.
The stones are about 10 tones, and the place of Machu Picchu is highland.
How did people carry such heavy stones?
This is still a mystery.



Moreover,workmen who construct buildings were foreigners.
This shows that Machu Picchu seemed to have communication with other areas.

In this way, buildings are also important clues.

10. Summary and Conclusion

To sum up these articles, in Machu Picchu, people lived high level life based on faith of Sun.
It was more healthy and peaceful than we think.

But today, we can't still solve some mysteries of Machu Picchu.
However, I think that the charm of Machu Picchu is exactly the mystery.

Why don't you travel to Machu Picchu?