By NAN Lifestyle Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 27, 2016: Travelers have voted a South American historic site as the number one landmark in the world!
According to latest TripAdvisor reports, the Machu Picchu in Peru is the top land mark globally.
Here are ten things you should know about the Machu Picchu:
1: The Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley and is at an elevation of 7,972 feet and covers over 5.019 square miles.
2: It was built around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest.
3: It’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments, and panoramic views.
4: Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows.
5: Most archaeologists believe that the Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472).
6: It is often mistakenly referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas.”
7: The Machu Picchu was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian and lecturer at Yale University, Hiram Bingham.
8: Animal, liquid, and dirt sacrifices to the gods were much more common than human sacrifices and were made at the Altar of the Condor and are still made today by members of the New Age Andean religion.
9: Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and was named a UNESCO Heritage site in 1983.
10: Restoration work on the famous site continues today.
A full-day guided tour will cost about USD300. The Machu Picchu is open year-round, but be warned – it can rain at anytime, though officially, October to April is the rainy season.
Getting there: Fly into Cusco and take the 3.5-hour train ride from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu which is now officially called Machu Picchu Pueblo. Spend one or two nights there to allow a full day to explore the Machu Picchu. Then take the train back to Cusco.
