The Lost City of the Incas - Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu: "The Lost City of the Sun" The Lost City of Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu. Lost city of the Incas.
Machu Picchu (literally "old peak") is sometimes referred to as the "lost city of the Incas". This city was created as a sacred mountain haven by the great Inca ruler Pachacutec a century before the conquest of his empire, that is, approximately in 1440, and functioned until 1532, when the Spaniards invaded the territory of the Inca empire. In 1532, all its inhabitants mysteriously disappeared.
As I wrote earlier, we were in Machu Picchu for two days. On the first day it was pouring rain, which greatly spoiled the overall impression of the place, preventing us from enjoying the beauties of this unique place, referred, by the way, to the list of "New Wonders of the World".
For 80 soles at the entrance, we took a guide - a guide who took us around the city. This tour took about 45 minutes. After that, we walked around the city a little more, realized that there was nothing to catch here and went to climb around the neighborhood, hoping that in about three hours the weather would be normal. Well, as a result, after three hours we returned to the city when it was closed. Therefore, we returned to Machu Picchu the next day, having re-purchased tickets for 126 sols (yes, the entrance ticket is valid only for one day), which we did not regret at all, because we saw the city in beautiful sunny weather, which is only occasionally interrupted by a little rain from a cloud floating over the city next door. Well, to any cloud here in fact, as they say, "within a stone's throw."
1. Bus stop and the main entrance to Machu Picchu. Once again, a downpour has fallen, tourists are hiding under umbrellas and multi-colored raincoats.
2. Sometimes the rain stopped and gaps formed in the sky.
3. But still, on this day, Machu Picchu looked like this. Damp, puddles and mud underfoot. You take out your camera and only think about how not to soak it ...
4. Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that we had one more day in reserve, we decided to leave the city until the next day, and we ourselves went to see the Inca bridge, though we went in the wrong direction, as a result we went to Mount Machu Picchu. What came of it -
5. And this is the same hotel at the entrance to Machu Picchu with rooms for $700 per night. Behind him are parked buses.
6. The next day the weather was much better. This is the first view of Machu Picchu that a person who has just entered the city sees. Numerous agricultural terraces
7. Machu Picchu is often referred to as the "City in the Sky" or "City in the Clouds". Well, actually, it is.
8. The conquistadors didn't find Machu Picchu. Perhaps it was this fact that saved the city from destruction and rebuilding. For more than 400 years, this city was forgotten and abandoned. It was discovered by an American researcher from Yale University, Professor Hiram Bingham on July 24, 1911.
9. Due to its modest size, Machu Picchu cannot claim to be a large city - it has no more than 200 buildings. These are mainly temples, residences, warehouses and other premises for public needs. For the most part, they are made of well-worked stone, slabs tightly fitted to each other. It is believed that up to 1200 people lived in and around it, who worshiped the sun god Inti there and cultivated crops on the terraces.
10. Sector of houses where artisans lived.
11. Mount Huayna Picchu.
12. To build a city in such an inconvenient place for construction, incredible skill was required. According to civil engineer Kenneth Wright and archaeologist Alfredo Valencia Segarra, more than half of the building effort went into site preparation, drainage, and foundation work. Massive retaining walls and stepped terraces have been supporting the city for more than 500 years, preventing rains and landslides from demolishing it from the rocky ledge.
13. About the natural fauna and animals living here, you can safely write a separate post. Here, for example, llamas.
14. There were solid llamas all around. There were so many of them that I almost felt like a lama myself. There were also small lamps.
15. Feeding llama on the background of Machu Picchu.
16. Very cute)))
20. Temple of the sun.
21. He is inside. Pay attention to the quality of the masonry. The most even masonry is near temples and the imperial residence.
A little worse - at the houses of the nobility. At artisans, workshops, army and common people laying is simpler and worse.
23. Walk through the streets of Machu Picchu. Here in this photo you can clearly see the difference in the quality of construction.
26. Scattered throughout the city are several springs with drinking water. From here it was dismantled by the inhabitants and carried to their homes.
32. If you go to another slope of the city, then you can see a very unusual picture: how the wind from below from the river valley drives clouds over the ridge on which Machu Picchu is located. Clouds literally rise from the bottom up.
33. Valley of the Urubamba River.
34. That's just the clouds ran into the city.
36. The main square of Machu Picchu. By the way, during any force majeure, helicopters land here to evacuate tourists. So, for example, it was last year, when all the roads were washed away due to heavy rainfall.
37. Main temple.
38. View towards the agricultural sector. By the way, do you see the top in the clouds in the distance???)
39. Intiwatana. Sacred stone, oriented to the cardinal points. It is believed that with its help the Incas observed the Sun.
41. Again the main square.
47. And this stone is called La Roca Sagrada /
48. This is a checkpoint for those who go to Huayna Picchu. In total, two parties of 200 tourists are allowed in each. That is 400 people a day.
50. All sorts of crawling creatures.
51. Narrow streets again.
52. Once again the quarters of artisans.
53. Here in the center of the frame is a condor stone.
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This was the last post about Peru. In conclusion, I would like to note a few important, in my opinion, things that can be considered advice to those who decide to go to Peru. So.
1. Peru for citizens of Russia - visa-free country. The only thing you need is to fill out an immigration card at the entrance, and at the exit to pay the national boron, in the amount of 32 dollars, and it is paid in dollars.
2. Money. We took most of the money bank cards. This is convenient from the point of view that it allows you not to carry large amounts of money with you, while having the opportunity to withdraw the necessary amount at any ATM. Avoid suspicious ATMs, we only withdraw money from ATMs at banks and didn’t seem to withdraw anything extra. The size of the commission depends on the cockroaches of your bank. By the way, do not forget that banking operations in Peru, according to our banks, are potentially risky, which means that the security service can block the card itself at any time. To avoid this, I personally wrote a statement to Alfa-Bank so that the card would not be blocked. Bank24.ru did not demand to write anything.
Cards are accepted at major cities almost everywhere where they may be needed: at gas stations, restaurants and hotels. In small shops, of course, they will not accept it. By the way, do not forget another unpleasant moment, that the farther from Lima, the worse the cards are. In the provinces, an additional percentage is generally very common, (7-10%) if you pay by card.
Cash dollars and euros can be exchanged both in banks (at an unfavorable rate), and in private exchangers or at "changers" at central squares. Their exchange rate is much better, but they can cheat, and it’s not worth flashing large sums of money on the streets. Salt is withdrawn through an ATM at the official rate. One New Sol is approximately equal to 1/3 US dollar.
3. Hotels. We only stayed in hotels. We did not spend a single night either in the car or in the hostel. In all cities where it was possible to book hotels before leaving Moscow through booking.com, we did this and never regretted it at all. Therefore, we strongly recommend everyone to book hotels in advance. Firstly, you will already know exactly your location and the address where you need to go, for example, from the airport. After a 12-hour flight, believe me, you won’t have the strength to run around Miraflores with trunks.
Secondly, if you book through the same booking.com, you can win a lot in price, because there are always some special offers and discounts there. So in Lima, we lived in a 4 * hotel in a junior suite, for only $ 80 per day, with its market value almost 2.5 times more. In addition, all good hotels Booked, as a rule, for several days, or even weeks in advance. It may turn out that there simply will not be free places, but it’s not worth stopping anywhere in Peru: this is not only a matter of comfort, but also of safety.
The only places where we couldn't book hotels were Paracas and Aguas Calientes. Well, fortunately, we found them on the spot without any problems, since the places are exclusively tourist.
4. Safety. This is the most exciting question for all those who are going to this region. If someone thinks that these are all "horror stories" and blush, then I will say right away: stay away from sin, you should not go here. Peru is a rather poor country and the level of development of the vast majority of the population here is not very high. As a result - a large number of robberies, thefts and robberies. For your own good, a few tips.
Carry only as much money with you as you plan to spend that day. Everything else - leave in the room along with documents such as a passport and driver's license. You don't need to carry them with you all the time. Carry all the money and documents (if you still took them) in your pockets, it is better not to have any handbags hanging on your shoulders - they can simply be torn off by a car or motorcycle passing by when you are standing at a traffic light or walking along the sidewalk.
When riding in a taxi, always put your bags and backpacks at your feet, close the windows, and lock the doors. While the car is in a traffic jam or at an intersection, robbers can quickly open the door and by the time you realize what happened, it will be too late. However, all normal taxi drivers will tell you this right away, especially when traveling from (to) the airport, because there are very unfavorable areas to go there. For greater fidelity, it is better to always buckle up (even from the back), so there is less chance that you will be pulled out of the car (this happens), and considering road traffic in the city, this is not at all superfluous.
Do not walk around the cities at night (well, with the exception of the Miraflores district of Lima - you can be careful there), try to avoid narrow streets and courtyards. In no case do not poke your head in the favelas, well, unless you set a goal to get yourself adventures in one place))) If you have any questions with the police (no matter which real or fake) - always call the embassy IMMEDIATELY !!! 90% of all problems are solved with just one call. the police there "love" visitors just as much as they do in our country.
Everywhere they write that Lima is the center of crime, and in the province everything is nice and fluffy. This is not true. In the "tourist capital" Cusco, there are a lot of narrow and green streets where packs of dogs roam, and prostitutes and other strange personalities carefully look at you as you pass them (and you still have nowhere to go - the streets are only 3 meters wide).
5. General impression. Despite all of the above, with due care, in Peru, not everything is as gloomy as it seems. Main advice when planning your trip: always allow for at least one extra day on the coast and at least one extra day in the mountains. In Peru, something can go wrong at any moment (a bus will be canceled, planes won’t fly because of the weather, all places on excursions have been selected, etc.), and this can greatly break your schedule, and you have to make it very tight - from it won't go away.
The sights you will see in Peru are unique. That's why it's worth going there just for the sake of it. But at the same time, one should not forget that this is not a vacation, but a journey that requires great preparation, concentration of strength and attention, readiness, if necessary, to put up with the lack of obvious benefits of civilization. For example, there is no centralized hot water supply in any city in Peru. And this means that the availability and quality of hot water (or lack of it) will directly depend on the hotel or other place you choose to spend the night. It may turn out that the water will be hot, but only in the shower (that is, in the sink in the bathroom is only cold) we had it in Aguas Calientes. But in general, for the country, this is quite normal and should be borne in mind. With all this, they have Wi-Fi almost everywhere and for free. By the way, Megafon roaming in Peru refused to work.
Peru is indeed not a country for everyone. Sitting in one place for a week will not work here, no matter how hard you try, the route will be drawn up according to the principle: 2 nights in the city - moving - 3 nights in the city - moving - 2 nights in the city - moving and so on ...) Attention is drawn to the fact that the humidity is very high on the coast (washed things do not dry at all), and in Cusco - the highlands, where the lack of oxygen is noticeably felt.
But with all this, it is also very interesting country. Stunning colonial architecture, coast Pacific Ocean, Andes, unique nature and fauna, and, of course, the Nazca drawings and the legacy of the Incas - structures that hardly fit in the head, if you think about what time they were created.
In general, for real travelers it is highly recommended to visit.
If anyone is interested in any other points, ask ...)
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Machu Picchu(Quechua Machu Picchu) - one of the most famous sights, an ancient city nestled on top of a mountain range (2.6 thousand m above sea level), above the river (Spanish: Rio Urubamba), 120 km from the city. The settlement in 2007 was awarded the title of "New Wonder of the World".
Prices are valid for March 2018 G.
Some tourists prefer to get from Aguas Calientes to the abandoned city of the Incas on foot. In this difficult and lengthy mountain hike it is better to leave around 5 o'clock in the morning in order to meet the sunrise on the spot.
- The most interesting: to go on foot along the ancient. For such a trip, designed for 4 days of travel, the average physical preparation of the participants will be required.
- The most budgetary: from Cusco by minibus or bus to Ollantaytambo, then get by bus first to Santa Maria (Spanish Santa María del Mar), then to Santa Teresa (Spanish Santa Teresa) and Hydroelectrics (Spanish Hidroelectrica). The whole trip will take about 6 hours. From Hydroelectrica to Aguas Calientes you can walk in 1.5 - 2 hours.
Curious facts
- Yale University professor Hiram Bingham, who has long worked on the study of the ruins of the Inca civilization, based on his discoveries wrote several popular books, such as “ Mystery of Machu Picchu and The Lost City of the Incas.
- Interestingly, the Incas built their cities in the shape of animals. From a bird's eye view, Cusco, for example, resembles a puma. And Machu Picchu is built in the shape of a condor bird. One can only guess who in the 15th century could see it from above.
- Religion had a huge impact on the way of life and behavior of the Incas, they honored the gods and tried to live, observing the main commandment: “Ama sua, ama lyulya, ama chelya” (ketch. Ama Sua, Ama Llulla, Ama Qhella - “Do not steal, do not lie , do not be lazy").
- In 1983, M-P entered the register World Heritage UNESCO, becoming the center of world tourism. Today, up to 2.5 thousand tourists visit it every day, but in order to preserve the monument, the organization demands to reduce the number of daily attendance by a factor of three.
- M-P has dimensions of 530x200 m and is clearly divided into 2 zones: agricultural (consisting of terraces located on steep granite slopes) and urban (including main square, winding streets and up to 200 buildings). Both zones are separated by stairs, a wall and a moat.
- To erect a fortification in an extremely inconvenient place for construction required colossal efforts and unsurpassed skill. However, the titanic work was not done in vain, because the massive walls and stepped terraces have been holding the mysterious city for more than 550 years, preventing the natural elements from demolishing it from the height of the mountain range.
- H. Bingham, who discovered a hidden place in 1911, put forward a hypothesis that Machu Picchu was a city of priestesses, "virgins of the Sun." But as a result of scrupulous research by scientists, it was found that representatives of the stronger sex also lived here. True, of the 173 skeletons found in the ancient ruins, only 23 of them belonged to men.
- There was a belief that if you touch the sacred stone "Intuniana" with your forehead, then the world of spirits and the divine energy of the Sun will open to a person.
- For a long time it was assumed that this mountainous area It was inhabited by people long before the advent of the Inca civilization. The most progressive scientists attributed the authorship of the buildings to alien architects. But modern researchers have established that the city was built in 1450 and could well have been the summer residence of the ruler and his court, because. it was much hotter in the capital Cusco.
- Scientists reject the theory of external invasion: neither destruction nor traces of violence have been found here. There is a hypothesis that the population was mowed down by a smallpox epidemic. It is likely that the inhabitants left their home as punishment for the dishonor inflicted by one of the priestesses. In the state of the Incas, violence against a solar maiden was punishable by the death of both the guilty person and all his relatives. Moreover, it was already forbidden to live in the desecrated place for the entire community as a whole, even for animals.
- Among the Incas, many stones were revered as sacred. Perhaps this fact explains such a careful adjustment of stone blocks: even blades cannot be inserted between some! Truth,
only stones used for the construction of temples and houses of noble citizens were subjected to a jewelry degree of processing. - Machu Picchu was surrounded by "andenes" - special stepped agricultural terraces, fortified with walls of roughly hewn blocks. From them came the name mountain range. Andenes was filled with fertile soil delivered from the Urubamba river valley. Potatoes, maize, medicinal herbs and even flowers were grown here.
- For the Incas, gold and silver were sacred metals, which they referred to as "tears of the Sun and Moon." Europeans had a completely different attitude towards precious metals. The first detachments of the Spanish conquistadors, who captured Cuzco, found so many gold objects here that for about six months they melted them into ingots, which were then sent to the metropolis. All this was the reason for the depreciation of gold, unprecedented in the history of mankind, which then fell several times in price.
- Having exhausted the gold reserves of the Incas, the Spaniards launched another campaign to search for precious stones and metals in the Cusco region. Due to its inaccessible location, Machu Picchu has long been identified with a hidden fairy land. Despite the fact that no treasures were found here, it was nicknamed the "Golden City of the Incas". Lonely, lurking in the rocks, he is still one of the most mysterious and amazing places planets.
- The answer to the question "Where did the inhabitants of Machu Picchu disappear?" scientists have not yet found.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham's expedition, accompanied by Indians, made its way through the wilds of the jungle to the foot of Machu Picchu in Peru for several days. The ancient lost city of Machu Picchu with its undestroyed observatories, temples and houses appeared before the researchers in complete safety. No human foot has set foot in these places for a long time.
Machu Picchu is really important architectural monument South America, and in 2007 he received the status of a new wonder of the world. The city from the time of the sons of the Sun of the Incas has come down to us safe and sound, and its beauty is incomparable with many other cities around the world.
The history of the construction of the city of Machu Picchu
The name Machu Picchu was given to the city by its discoverer, but the present has forever disappeared in the memory of centuries. The city is located 120 kilometers from the famous Cusco near the Urubamba River. It is believed that Machu Picchu was built by Pachacuti, who ruled from 1438-1471. At first, Machu Picchu occupied a secondary role, but after the capture by the Spaniards, Cusco became the main and last city of the Incas, where their civilization came to naught.
The Spaniards never visited here, but still civilization began to fade. Conservation from other settlements, the gradual overgrowth of the city reduced its population. And so it continued until the last of its inhabitants died. Bingham found several dozen skeletons here, most of which were female.
One has only to marvel at the skill of the ancient builders. Building located in hard to reach place, are at different heights, and to connect them, more than a hundred stone stairs had to be made. All the buildings of the city are made in cyclopean masonry - the stones are held only by their own weight. Due to the unevenness of the terrain and the presence of sometimes strong slopes, the stones have special bulges for greater stability. It is also worth noting that all these stone colossus, according to the level of development of the Incas, were built exclusively by human forces without the use of special devices.
Description of the districts of the ancient city
The central area of the city is the Acropolis. Here is the temple of the Sun Itiutana, the only temple that has come down to us, dedicated to the supreme deity of the Incas. There is also the temple of the high priest and the temple of the Three Windows, named because of the three large windows in the masonry.
Temple of the Three Windows
The next quarter is Royal. Its construction is attributed to the XV-XVI century. Here is the temple-fortress of Torreon, a semicircular tower with many small altars. Not far from it is the Palace of the Princess, where the Inca queen Koya or the daughter of the supreme Inca lived. It is believed that the Inca himself lived here in the palace, consisting of two buildings. But this is only a guess, and the mandatory residence of the Incas at Machu Picchu has not been confirmed.
Torreon
The next quarter is allocated for ordinary houses. Behind the ridge of stone ramparts is the quarter of artisans. Farther away is the building where the judges and executioners were supposedly kept. Not far from here is a semblance of a city prison with hooks for chaining prisoners.
Prison
Behind the prison, caves with burials begin. The exquisite decoration of the cave rooms suggests that noble people of the city, and perhaps the entire Inca empire, were buried here, whose mummies could have been transferred from the plundered Cuzco.
By the way, this research ancient city The Inca journey continues, and who knows what discoveries hide the ruins of the magnificent cultural monument of Machu Picchu.
The name "Machu Picchu" comes from the language of the Quechua people and means "old mountain" in translation. The settlement is also often referred to as "the city among the clouds" or "the city in the sky". Not far from the city is the cliff of Huayna Picchu, which means "young mountain". According to legend, this cliff is a guardian frozen in stone. Indeed, from a certain angle, the outlines of Huayna Picchu resemble the profile of an Indian looking into the sky.
The city consists of several hundred buildings and has a clear structure. In the southeastern part there are palace buildings, houses of the nobility and temples. One of the most unusual buildings is the Temple of the Condor, which got its name from the stone, the outlines of which resemble a bird's head with a beak. Probably, the stone served as a sacrificial altar, since the "beak" is bordered by a gutter. There is a hypothesis that the condor was a cult bird among the Incas, personifying the elements of air and freedom. Two small rocks behind the sacrificial stone symbolize wings.
Where is Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is the world-famous city of the Incas, lost in Peru. To get to it, you will first need to fly to Peru by plane to the capital Lima. Then you will need to make a short transfer to the plane in Cusco. Further, tourists by train can get to locality Aguas Calientes with railway station called "Sometimes" or another station in sacred valley. This is the village that is closest to the cherished goal. The next step is to buy a bus ticket to Machu Picchu. In terms of cost, this path is the most expensive.
If tourists want to save cash, you will need to take a bus from Cusco to Urubamba. There you can transfer to another bus to Oyantaytambo. In the evening, a train departs from the specified settlement to Aguas Calientes. Total time travel exceeds 6 hours.
As a result, the journey will be quite tiring. Moreover, from Aguas Calientes you will need to take a bus to the mountains. But it will take no more than a quarter of an hour, and you will find yourself in a wonderful and mysterious city of the Incas.
If you are not accustomed to getting anywhere by way, you can take the direct train from Aguas Calientes. True, the cost of a ticket may be too high for someone.
Inca city
The sacred city of the ancient Inca Empire Machu Picchu is the pride of modern Peru, one of the main attractions of Latin America. Also known as the "lost city of the Incas" modern world learned about him only in 1911, thanks to the expedition of the American professor Hiram Bingham.
The ancient architectural complex covers an area of more than 30 thousand hectares and is rightfully considered a masterpiece of Indian architecture.
The city is located in an amazing picturesque place- among impregnable cliffs, at an altitude of more than 2000 meters above the valley of the Urubamba River.
Why the Incas created a city in such an inaccessible place is still unclear. Perhaps the reason is that these lands have not only been famous for the beauty of nature for a long time, but are also considered mystical place with powerful positive energy. Perhaps the tops of the rocks were the best suited for conducting astronomical observations and brought the Indians closer to the Sun, which they worshiped as the supreme deity.
A large Sacred Square separated the region of the nobility from the dwellings of ordinary inhabitants, shops, workshops and a cemetery located in the Burial Rock. In the southern sector of the city there were peasant houses with outbuildings and pens for livestock. The Incas built roofs of their houses from wooden beams connected with vines, and covered them with straw on top.
The main temple of Machu Picchu is located in the western part of the city. Behind it is an elevation with artificial terraces and long staircase, leading to one of the most mysterious sights in architectural complex- the stone of Intihuatana, also known as the "stone of the Sun." This is a huge polygonal stone carved from a granite monolith on top of a rock. It is believed that the stone was used by priests in the ritual of "binding the Sun" - a symbolic act performed annually on the day of the winter solstice.
City appointment
Numerous studies of historians have not led them to a consensus regarding the appointment of the city of Machu Picchu. And now there are several hypotheses that have not become axioms.
According to the first theory, the city was the birthplace and the last stronghold of the Incas during their struggle with the conquistadors. But only later did it become known that last resort mysterious ancient people was the city of Espiritu Pampa.
A temple built for the Solar Maidens - that's how Machu Picchu was called for a long time. Scholars have suggested that it was founded for a women's religious order to worship them. Many years ago, the American George Eaton discovered a huge number of female skeletons during the excavations of the city. But the assumption made turned out to be false, and it turned out only in 2000. Then more detailed studies of the bones were carried out. It turned out that the female population in the city did not prevail.
A number of scholars consider this mysterious city to be the residence of the Inca ruler of the 15th century. We are talking about Emperor Pachacuti. The hypothesis arose at the end of the twentieth century because of a Spanish document, but no one has yet been able to confirm it exactly.
In 1991, the American Reinhard (famous archaeologist) drew attention to the fact that the city was built on the top of a mountain, at the foot of which the turbulent Urubamba River flows. Ultimately, it was concluded that given city was sacred to the Incas. Reinhard suggested that Machu Picchu united Heaven and Earth, was a kind of "sacred beginning" for the ancient people, symbolized eternity, a detail of the mythological landscape. But such reflections are very lengthy and, according to other anthropologists and archaeologists, have nothing to do with the real purpose of Machu Picchu.
And another theory from 2009. An Italian astrophysicist expressed his opinion that the city was an ordinary place of pilgrimage, and this was its main purpose.
To date, none of the above hypotheses has a real background and any confirmation of the data. Therefore, the appointment mysterious city ancient Incas remains unclear.
Where did the residents go?
It is also impossible to answer this question unambiguously. For too long people have tried to unravel the mysteries of the beautiful "heavenly" city. It seems that now some thread of reality has been lost forever by numerous researchers and scientists.
Some believe that the inhabitants died of a smallpox epidemic. Others tell of the attack of savage tribes. But this seems incredible, because no traces of their presence have been found. There is also no destruction in the city.
Another hypothesis is the desecration of the city, after which the inhabitants hastily left it. It is believed that violence was committed against the priestess of the Sun. The Incas believed that they were not allowed to be in the defiled territory and left in an unknown direction.
Perhaps the onslaught of the ruthless Spanish conquerors forced the indigenous people to leave the sacred lands, which forever lost their high status. But again, it is not known in which direction the Incas went, and what happened to them after they left Machu Picchu.
Perhaps another mystery of the mysterious city about the disappeared inhabitants will remain forever unsolved. But scientists do not stop looking for answers.
Disappearance of Inca gold
Thousands of expeditions from all over the world are unsuccessfully trying to find the famous Inca gold. It is believed that the conquering conquistadors ancient people mistook for gods and bestowed his unearthly treasures. When the last ruler of the Incas was executed, the Spaniards hid the gold, and some of it was taken out of the city. But the search continues, and the treasure remains undiscovered.
There are several interesting versions, each of which was not confirmed. Someone believes that the ingots were found in Germany by the Nazis back in the thirties. Others point to the Vatican, claiming that it was the Catholic Church that took possession of the treasures.
Still others believe that gold was taken to Poland in some unthinkable way by the last of the Incas. But all these versions turn out to be unreliable, since no one managed to find the amazing treasure. Gold hunters continue to visit the abandoned city of Machu Picchu. Someone believes that the main part of the gold rests in his lands - there can be no other way. Some scholars even provide historical evidence that the Spaniards removed only a small part of the amazing treasures from the territory of the Incas.
It is only worth noting that the city of the ancient Incas was not fully explored. It is possible that he is still fraught with unprecedented mysteries that you so want to solve as soon as possible. Thousands of daredevils come here to find answers to the most tricky historical questions, closely intertwined with modernity.
Conclusion
The heyday of the power of the city of the Incas was the second half of the 15th century. In the 30s of the 16th century, the city suddenly became empty. It is known for certain that the city was not among the settlements destroyed during the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors, so the reason why holy city depopulated.
There are many different hypotheses. Among possible causes called smallpox epidemic or desecration sacred places. It is most likely that the "city in the sky" lost its meaning after the fall of the empire and was therefore abandoned by the inhabitants. Be that as it may, researchers do not leave the hope that someday this secret will be revealed.
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