A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Most tours to Machu Picchu begin in Cusco, Peru.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu was built by the Inca in the early to mid-1400s.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Roads paved by the Inca hundreds of years ago still lead into the city.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Some of Machu Picchu’s most beautiful stonework incorporates living rock. This building is The Temple of the Sun.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

The Inca are famous for the precision of their stonework.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Though the building’s roofs are gone, Machu Picchu has been carefully restored and large areas of the city are open for visitors to explore.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Terraces seem stacked on top of each other looking up the mountainside.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

For those who want to avoid the steep climb to Machu Picchu, buses regularly travel this winding road from the town of Aguas Calientes in the valley below.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu was brought to the world’s attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, a North American explorer who heard of it though families living in the area.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

This unusual stone formation is part of The Temple of the Condor. It represents the head of a condor, a sacred animal to the Inca, with wings formed by the rock behind it.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Today Machu Picchu is Peru’s largest tourist attraction.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

Terraces along the steep mountainside allowed for agriculture even on mountain slopes.

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A Photographic Tour of Machu Picchu

By:

Sara Shahriari

March 26, 2011

Machu Picchu, “The Lost City of the Incas,” in all its glory.

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