Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca site in Peru, built for Pachacuti Inca in the 15th century. Rediscovered in 1911, it contains ruins of palaces, temples, and dwellings, as well as a sundial stone used for astrological purposes. The site was abandoned in the late 16th century after the Spanish conquest.
Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca site atop the cloud-shrouded Andean mountains of Peru. It is thought to have been built for Pachacuti Inca between 1460-70, and is sometimes called the City of the Gods. Machu Picchu, which means “old peak” in the Quechua language, was lost for nearly 400 years, but was rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham.
At an elevation of 9,060 feet (2,761 m) the 5-square-mile (13 square km) site of Machu Picchu contains the ruins of palaces, temples, baths, and some 150 dwellings. The site includes terraces for agricultural use, irrigated by natural springs. The stone buildings without mortar are still an architectural marvel today, with some blocks weighing up to 50 tons (45 metric tons), yet so precise that not even the thinnest knife blade can fit between them.
The Incas worshiped the sun. One of the most enigmatic features of Machu Picchu is the sundial or Intihuatana stone. Sitting on a large slab of gray rock, this modest monolith served as an astrological calendar. Twice a year, the stone revealed the equinoxes of March 21 and September 21 at noon, when the sun shone directly overhead, casting no shadow. At these moments, the Incas believed that the sun sat down with all its might on the pillar and bound itself to the rock. The stone is called the docking point of the sun. Many ceremonies have been held around this sacred stone, which also aligns with the December solstice. It is said to bestow celestial vision on any spiritual person who touches the stone with their forehead.
In 1533, Spanish conquistadors destroyed Inca cities far below Machu Picchu, but never found the city at the top of the mountain. The Intihuatana stone at the site is highly valued because the Spanish systematically searched for and destroyed all the Intihuatana stones they could find. When a sacred stone was broken, it was said to release the gods and power that inhabited it. The stone is whole, and therefore still in possession of all its original power.
Machu Picchu, believed to be a spiritual retreat or sanctuary, was abandoned around 1570-1580; some 40 years after the conquistadors ravaged the empire. “Inca” is the surname of the royal family who ruled the Inca Empire, which was once the largest in the New World.
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