Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is one of the most well known tourist sites in the world. It’s located on a mountain top near the Urubamba. Machu Picchu had been a site only known to the locals until it was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. Archaeologists do not know exactly why it was built and what it was for, but they believe that Machu Picchu had a spiritual meaning for the Incas. Many buildings are positioned a certain way so that you get an amazing view of the sunrise or sunset. Everything was layout according to the mountains, sky, and sun. The Sacred Plaza, for example, focuses on the mountains. On one side of the Plaza, the Temple of the Three Windows looks out on the mountains and also faces the summer solstice. Across from the Temple of the Three Windows, the Intimachay or the Cave of the Sun faces the winter solstice. Machu Picchu also has features common in most villages such as terraces, barns, storage houses, and encloses for animals. But unlike the typical eight corners and six sided stone blocks found in most architecture of the Incas, Machu Picchu is constructed from polygonal or many sided stone blocks. Archeologists have estimated that one block 32 corners. The builders of Machu Picchu did not use any mortar. In the 16th century, Machu Picchu was abandoned. Archeologists still have not found a reason for this.