Machu Picchu
Peru's Lost City of the Incas
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End wall of the megalithic wall adjacent
to the House of Three Windows. These two megalithic
houses face a courtyard overlooking steep, descending
terraces to the north. To the left is the courtyard on
which the House of Three Windows (next image) also
fronts.
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One of the end walls of the House of Three Windows.
Note Upper House framed by the window. The plaza is to
the left.
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View of the Torreon from above. This
view is looking upstream into the Urubamba Canyon, in
the direction of sunrise. The large window is seen in
the next view also. This window has been theorized to
have an astronomical orientation.
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The Torreon is perched on an immense
rock and above a small cave. Local folklore claims the
cave is the birthplace of an Inca.
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View of the Machu Picchu ruins and Huayna Picchu, the
peak on the right, from the agricultural terraces. The
small center peak is the location of the Intihuatani.
The plaza area is in its foreground.
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View from the Intihuatana across the upper plaza and
upstream in the Urubamba Valley.
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The only known intact Incan Intihuatana, "hitching post
of the Sun," is found at Machu Picchu. Because the
Spanish conquerors never found the site, the sculpture
remains unbroken. (Since writing, the Intihuatana was broken while filming a commercial.)
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View from the House of Three Windows area across the
plaza. The foreground terracing separates the upper and
lower plazas. The Urubamba River passes far below, to
the right of the peak in the background, flowing towards
the ruins and then around the base of Huaynu Picchu's
sheer, vertical slopes.
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House of Three Windows viewed from the plaza area. The
cyclopean blocks in the lower wall are a terrace. The
floor in the room is a few feet below the windows.
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View from inside the House of Three
Windows viewing across the plaza through the windows.
This and the adjoining house (image below) have three
stone walls each and open onto a common courtyard.
These two buildings and the Torreon present some of
the finest Incan masonry. P
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View from the ruins to the right of Huaynu Picchu into
the Urubamba Canyon. Sheer vertical cliffs wrap around
Huaynu Picchu. This impenetrable terrain prevented
discovery of the ruins by the Spanish.
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