Machu Picchu

If you’re exhausted with the daily grind of work, school, or anything in between, an escape to nature will help you refresh and recharge. Peru certainly has a lot of natural tourist attractions where you can get lost and enjoy a carefree journey.

Machu Pichu is the word’s most famous man-made wonder, and certainly the most treasured sites in Peru. It is evidence of the urban Inca Empire at the peak of its power and achievement—a citadel of cut stone fit together without mortar so tightly that its cracks still can’t be penetrated by a knife blade. Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Peru, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders, whose civilization was virtually wiped out by spanish invaders in the 16th century.

For hundreds of years, until the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911, the abandoned citadel’s existence was a secret known only to peasants living in the region. The site stretches over an impressive 5-mile distance, featuring more than 3,000 stone steps that link its many different levels.Historians believe Machu Picchu was built at the height of the Inca Empire, which dominated western South America in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is made up more than 150 buildings ranging from baths and houses to temples and sanctuaries. In the midst of a tropical mountain forest on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu’s walls, terraces, stairways and ramps blend seamlessly into its natural setting. The site’s finely crafted stonework, terraced fields and sophisticated irrigation system bear witness to the Inca civilization’s architectural, agricultural and engineering prowess. Its central buildings are prime examples of a masonry technique mastered by the Incas in which stones were cut to fit together without mortar.

Archaeologists have identified several distinct sectors that together comprise the city, including a farming zone, a residential neighborhood, a royal district and a sacred area. Machu Picchu’s most distinct and famous structures include the Temple of the Sun and the Intihuatana stone, a sculpted granite rock that is believed to have functioned as a solar clock or calendar.Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Peru to and Machu Pichu every year. This UNESCO natural wonder  is the perfect opportunity for tourists to go on the adventure of a lifetime. They can observe the natural wonders of the Inca culture and educate themselves of some of the most epic achievements of the Inca history as well as mankind.