Machu Picchu
 Located in the Andes at an altitude of 2350m, and overshadowed by a peak of 300 meters, is an Old Mountain. For years, the morning mist settled in this ancient site maintenance under a complex mystery. Covered in the wooded area and covered with dense vegetation, remained hidden from the outside world until 1911, when archaeologists named Hiram Bingham, "officially" discovered the site. "Old Mountain" was home to the ancient Inca fortress better known today as Machu Picchu. The thought that has been built by the Inca ruler, Pachacuti Inca Yapancui, the sanctuary of Machu Picchu overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba River, and covers an area of 5 square kilometers. It is part of the largest heritage site of Machu Picchu, which covers an area of 32,600 hectares and is home to numerous archaeological wonders and a variety of flora and fauna. While the ruins of Machu Picchu is accessible by train and a quick bus ride, the best way to get to the ruins is on the path known Inca. Built by the Incas in about 500AD, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu covers only a small part of the ancient road network, which once covered 23,000 km and connect more than three million kilometers of territory. The road was built of blocks along the spine of the Andes, which links southern Ecuador to central Chile. Among the lists of world-famous trekking the Inca Trail is undoubtedly one of the first posts, so popular in fact that one needs to book a place on the track of at least three months in advance. Until 2005, the number of hikers on the road climbing out of control with the result that the roads were crowded and full of trash and garbage. It got so bad that the government finally intervened and imposed a restriction of 500 hikers per day, including guides and porters. The result is that the route can now be traversed without the overwhelming sense of being in Piccadilly Square on a Saturday morning. In a place called Km82 on the Urubamba River, about 170 tourists visit each day, walking along the track of 53 kilometers famous Andean, the ruins of Machu Picchu. For many, the way modern man gives the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of a lost civilization, but what many people do not realize is that the route opens a window of exquisite plant life, a large number of ancient Inca ruins and an insight into some of the old traditions of the people. Well-worn walking trails, the road heads through small villages where residents grow corn to make its "chicha", or corn beer. Here, weary porters carrying heavy loads, stop buying a cup of the pink drink to quench their thirst. But first, pour some into the earth as a dedication to the goddess of the earth, the Pacha Mama. Such is the ancient tradition of worship dedicated Quechua people of this region, carrying on a tradition that was entrenched in the life of the Inca civilization, which occupied this region. Settlement along the Urubamba river, through deep valleys and up high passes, the trail heads through some of the most scenic routes, slopes covered with red patches of bromeliads, trees covered in bright purple, fuchsia, infinite extensions of Puna grassland and a myriad of hummingbirds dart about the picture on the sweet nectar of bright orange flowers that adorn the bushes along the roads. Shortly after starting up the first of several steps one looks down on the ruins of Llactapata, or the City of the slope. Rumour has it that the walls of these ruins contain the secret of the whereabouts of a stash of gold buried. Maybe it's the way the sunlight plays with the prairies of gold shining through the clouds, or simply the attraction of mystery, but more of a hiker being hypnotized, and that peer down on this ancient fortress . And so the trail continues as it goes to the most difficult part of the route - "Dead Woman's Pass", so called because from the beginning, the mountain appears as a woman lying at his side. Breathe in the air like a puff to the top of the pass, once can not help but marvel at the great effort put into building this network of roads by the Inca civilization. On the road passes rises, falls into the valleys and goes through tunnels excavated in solid rock, soon finds himself entering the cloud forest. Here, amid the ruins of Sayakmarka and Conchamarka, lichens and air plants hang on trees and rocks sigh under the weight of the mosses that grow to a meter deep. And in the fog that rolls through these valleys, the Inca Trail protects one of the most incredible, over 250 species of orchids adorn these paths, the smaller the Pleurothalis, the "flower that measures only 2 mm in length. Dragon orchids, bats face Epidendrum orchids and Maxilaria to name but a few. Begonia grow in abundance, creating a kaleidoscope of color as you approach the ruins of Phuyupatamarka, correctly, that means "city above the clouds." Leaving behind these ruins, the road heads down an endless combination of stone steps and trails along a recently discovered section opened in 1985. That this road had been so well hidden for almost 600 years makes one wonder what other mysteries are hidden under dense shrubbery. But maybe he was hiding a sacred ruin, seen by some to be more beautiful than the sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Wayna ruins ofWiay. "Forever Young, 'meaning the ruins consist of an upper and lower area of ceremonial life, connected by a long flight of stairs. Alongside these and falling in front of a crashing fall around magnificent waterfall and forest area is a huge amphitheater of sweeping agricultural terraces, now home of residence alpaca grazing in the morning light. But the taste of tradition and history obtained during these three days on the road are negligible compared to the wonder that awaits hikers excited on the last day of travel. Amid the excitement of the talk in the early morning, people line up at the front door of the trail at 05h00, pending in advance for the door to open. The last 40 minutes walk to the door ahead Intipunku and accompanied by the calls of birds to awaken the day, they come to the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. Covered by a blanket of fog in the morning, you look down on this, a magnificent complex and watches as the sun hits the terraces gently throwing the light in the morning, the opening of the ruins in the eyes of modern man. Deep in the valley, lies the Urubamba river, pounding through the valley as the heart of the mother goddess. And behind the ruins of the "Old Mountain", Huayna Picchu rises sharply as the nose of the Pachamama as she watches the sky. Some say the city was built for the nobility, while others say it was a center for astronomical observation. Built on a pyramidal mound in the center of the complex is the incredible Intihuatana, meaning "hook after the sun", a block so carefully designed so that at noon on March 21 and September 21, the sun shines directly on the pillar, casting no shadow at all. The complex is home to a large number of stone walls, rooms and ceremonial areas, agricultural terraces and living areas. So intricate built many structures that no mortar is used to hold together the massive blocks, some weighing up to 50 tons. In a town of 1,200 people, about 300 000 tourists embark on an annual pilgrimage to the ruins, of which about 12 000 coming through the ancient Inca trails. But as the glaciers of Kilimanjaro are extinction by global warming, as increased levels of rain threaten to destroy the very foundations of the ruins of Machu Picchu. Once protected by the Pachamama and then mysteriously abandoned and returned to their forest, then your future is in the hands of man. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1983, the sanctuary of Machu Picchu is now a protected area and UNESCO is committed to ensuring that this ancient sanctuary remains intact and safe from the ruin and destruction. The Chilean poet, Pueblo Neruda once wrote: "Machu Picchu is a trip to the serenity of the soul, to eternal fusion with the cosmos ... a resting place of butterflies at the epicenter of the great circle of life for one more. miracle, a miracle that the trust will survive in the history of mankind.
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