Places to Visit in Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is undeniably Peru’s premier tourist attraction and few visitors to the country fail to make their way to the hilltop ruins of the ‘Lost City of the Incas’. Almost everyone has seen pictures of the enigmatic ruins nestling on their perch on top of a mountain, surrounded by swirling wisps of cloud. However, not everyone is so familiar with the highlights and unmissable sights within the complex.

The Inca City of Machu Picchu, is located within the so-called Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, the built area of the Inca City is 530 meters long by 200 meters wide. It has 172 enclosures and the whole complex is divided into two large areas; Following the architectural principles of Duality of the Inca Culture (those of above or Hanan and the ones of below or Hurin).

The Inca City is divided into two zones:

• The agricultural area, formed by sets of terraces for cultivation.
• The urban area, which is where the occupants lived and where religious activities were carried out.

The Agricultural Zone

The Agricultural Zone is characterized by the presence of terraces of cultivation or Andenes, they are structures formed by walls of stone, of different sizes, with gravel, clay and cultivated land, that were constructed to facilitate the drainage.

The surveillance post
The surveillance post is located in front of the cemetery is located at the top of a set of platforms. Behind her is the Funeral Rune. It is a building of three walls, also denominated like “huayrana”, has windows to each side. From this site you can see the Agricultural Zone as much as the Urban Zone of the Inca City of Machu Picchu.

First Group of Andenes
This first group of platforms is located at the entrance to the Inca City of Machu Picchu, near the cemetery, located sequentially with the purpose of obtaining a better location with respect to the illumination of the sun, they are of rectangular plant, united by a staircase, The last platform has clear signs of Inca architecture that uses mud mortar, these enclosures are nowadays restored and give us an idea of how they were built in the Inca era.

Low Sector Andenes
This sector is attached to the dry pit, it has more than 40 platforms. The Andenes called “Pata Pata” in Quechua are “stepped terraces” that climb the hills and mountains in various gradients, platforms not only create fertile land, but fighting erosion of useful land, allow efficient drainage, achieve A maximum use of water and retain the fertility of the area by lowering the elements and minerals only from one level to another, accumulating in the soil the necessary humus from one platform to another.

Urban Zone

This area responds to the triology that governed the daily life of the Inca Culture which are:

• The Kay Pacha, “the land of the living”, with living beings, with water, life and death giver represented by the serpent or snake through two ceremonial sources, and below a sequence of them.
• The Hanan Pacha, “the land of the gods”, represented by the Sun God and also has the lightning fertilizer as the messenger, is represented by the “Puma”, the Solar Drum has the dual function of worshiping the Sun God and astronomically controlling its Functions.
• The Uhju Pacha, “the land of the dead”, represented by the condor, sacred bird that could carry the souls of men from earth to heaven, their representation is, buried in darkness beneath the Temple of the Sun symbolic architectural expression.

Machu Picchu one of the most famous and spectacular sets of ruins in the world. If you want to visit Machu Picchu. You need to contact us, We are Inti Sun Trek a reliable and safe travel agency, with a trained staff that will help you to live an unforgettable experience.