Machu Picchu bears, with Cuzco and the other archaeological sites
of the valley of the Urubamba (Ollantautaybo, Runcuracay,
Sayacmarca, Phuyupamarca, Huiñay Huayna, Intipucu, etc.
) a unique testimony to the Inca civilization. Cuzco and the old
villages still retain traces of land occupation from the Inca Empire
to preserve, in a more global manner, an archaeological heritage
which has become susceptible to the effects of urbanization.
Furthermore, Macchu Picchu is an outstanding example of man's
interaction with his natural environment.
Standing 2,430 m above sea level, in the midst of a tropical
mountain forest in an extraordinarily beautiful setting, Machu
Picchu was probably the most amazing urban creation of the I
nca Empire at its height. Its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as
if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments.
The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes,
encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diver
sity of flora and fauna.
Machu Picchu covers 32,500 ha in some of the scenically most
attractive mountainous territory of the Peruvian Andes. As the last
stronghold of the Incas and of superb architectural and
archaeological importance, Machu Picchu is one of the most
important cultural sites in Latin America; the stonework of the site
remains as one of the world's great examples of the use of a natural
raw material to provide outstanding architecture which is totally
appropriate to the surroundings. The surrounding valleys have been
cultivated continuously for well over 1,000 years, providing one of
the world's greatest examples of a productive man-land
relationship; the people living around Machu Picchu continue a
way of life which closely resembles that of their Inca ancestors,
being based on potatoes, maize and llamas. Machu Picchu also
provides a secure habitat for several endangered species, notably
the spectacled bear, one of the most interesting species in the are
a. Others animals include: dwarf brocket, the otter, long-tailed
weasel, pampas cat and the vulnerable ocelot, boa, the Andean
cock of the rock, and the Andean condor.
The natural vegetation is of humid and very humid lower montane
forest of the subtropical region, mainly with genera and ferns of the
Cyathea and palms.
Set on the vertiginous site of a granite mountain sculpted by erosion
and dominating a meander in the Rio Urubamba, Machu Picchu is
a world renowned archaeological site. The construction of this
amazing city, set out according to a very rigorous plan, comprises
one of the most spectacular creations of the Inca Empire. It
appears to date from the period of the two great Incas, Pachacutec
Inca Yupanqui (1438-71) and Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1472-93). The
function of this city situated at least 100 km from the capital
Cuzco, has not been formulated which are not verifiable given the
absence of written documentation and sufficiently explicit material
evidence.
Without making a judgement as to their purpose, several quite
individual quarters may be noted in the ruins of Machu Picchu: a
quarter 'of the Farmers' near the colossal terraces whose slopes
were cultivated and transformed into hanging gardens; an
'industrial' quarter; a 'royal' quarter and a 'religious' quarter. Inca
architecture reveals itself here in all of its force with the titanic
earthen works which multiplied the platforms, levelled the rock
y relief, constructed ramps and stairways and literally sculpted the
mountain whose cyclopean constructions appear to be a
prolongation of nature.
