When people hear
the phrase “travel destinations,” many times a visual of transparent blue
water, sandy beaches, and palm trees comes to mind. For the more upscale destination, maybe the
picture looks something more like the Eiffel Tower paired with a fancy French
cuisine and a glass of wine. For a girl
like myself, sure, these are vacations I would love to take part in; however,
my dream travel destinations are a bit off the beaten path. What better way to begin this blog than with
the location that sits highest on my travel list: Machu Picchu.
Now I’m sure a few
questions are racing through your mind right now. Where on Earth is Machu Picchu, if it’s even
on Earth? What kind of a name is
that? Why would I ever want to go there
for a vacation? Well, don’t worry or
fret if you have never heard of Machu Picchu.
Many haven’t, but it’s about time.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of
the World. Located in the country of
Peru on the western side of South America, Machu Picchu is a 15th-century
Inca site. Now why would one want to
choose Machu Picchu as their vacation destination? For the people who do not consider “why not”
a legitimate reason, I’ll throw out another: the beauty of this place. The site sits on the peak of the mountain
Machu Picchu (aptly named) in the Peruvian Andes Mountains. The Urubamba River surrounds the site on
three sides, leading to typical morning mist.
The location among extremely steep mountains and deep valleys provides a
truly gorgeous spectrum to feed the human eye.
If nothing else, head to Machu Picchu to take in the beauty of the
Peruvian mountains. For all those that
need another good reason to desire to explore Machu Picchu, the history is
mind-boggling. Maybe it’s just the
anthropologist or historian buff in me, but the true uniqueness of this place
lies in the fact that it had never been known of by the Spanish during their
conquests of the South American lands. The
sacred rocks that were defaced in other territories of Spanish invasion are
completely untouched at Machu Picchu. Therefore,
Machu Picchu is an extremely intact cultural site, displaying much of the
original architecture in the way it was constructed by the Incan people. The typical Inca style of architecture
consisted of polished dry-stone walls, present at Machu Picchu. 1450 is the approximate year of construction
of Machu Picchu, but experts believe construction on the site began as early as
1400. It is believed that Machu Picchu
was built as the estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti.
The profound
history of this archaeological gem is something I could write on and on about,
but this is a travel blog. I do not want
to give all the secrets away. Part of
traveling is discovering, and part of discovering is understanding the history
of a place. So, enough said. Go to Machu Picchu, learn about the people
who inhabited the American continents long before the famous Christopher
Columbus, and get a visual into their life before European conquistadors brought
an end to their glory days. If I haven’t
given you reason enough or piqued your curiosity in the slightest, go to Machu
Picchu for no reason at all because traveling doesn’t require one.
For those that are
interested in other Incan sites that may be less publicized than Machu Picchu, here
are a few names to research: Choquequirao, Llactapata, Vitcos.
Travel Deals:
Everyone knows of
the typical travel sites: Expedia, TripAdvisor, Orbitz, HotWire, etc. This section will suggest other deals specific
to the destination.
www.peruforless.com – Abundant travel
itineraries on this website that include the Machu Picchu destination, plus
others in the same package.
