At an altitude of 3,650 meters in the Andes of Peru, over the raging rapids of the river Urubamba is amazing, the lost from all over the world Inca city of Machu Picchu. Legends tell that its founder was Manco Capac - "son of the gods who came down with the sun", the ruler of a vast Empire Tawantinsuyu arising believed to historians, in the XII-XIII centuries, however, The Indians claimed that the city has appeared in the times Puripica, i.e. in the period of darkness", perhaps even in the pre-glacial epoch.

Ancient stone fortress Machu Picchu was discovered by the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham. Like the discoverer of the legendary Troy Heinrich Schliemann, he believed the ancient legend about the great Incan cities, built somewhere high in the mountains, and searched for them. In the summer of 1911 expedition Bingham, who explored the coast of Urubamba in Eastern Peru, came to a halt at the foot of a mountain. On the slope it worked a few Indians, and one of them volunteered to show travelers the old houses on top... And there scientists saw what he was looking for - a city surrounded with powerful cyclopean walls, houses, built of large stone slabs, terraces, United stairs carved in the rocks.

Sundial on town squares continued countdown, and the hanging gardens were blooming flowers, as when the streets went the people ... This mountain Indian called Machu Picchu, "Old Mountain").

Surprisingly, almost did not affect the ancient city. He remained largely due to the fact that it is located high in the mountains. The Spanish conquistadors about it knew nothing, and besides, during the conquest of America in the city no one lived.

Machu Picchu has led scientists to break your head over how managed builders of the past to shape, to deliver to the mountains and to install and fit one to another with millimeter accuracy, huge granite boulders, not taking no solder, no cranes.

Indian legends say that to build the city helped... birds! This assertion seemed fiction until in 1960, zoologists have not opened in the Andes previously unknown species of birds, of which the locals called "hachakla" ("he who prosverlivayut stone"). These birds, tearing off in the rain forest branches of some unknown plants and taking it in his mouth back into the mountains, easy to "drill" into the rocks of the nest a depth of one meter, as if the SAP softens the stone. There is no doubt that the builders of Machu Picchu used the juice in the grinding of stone monoliths, after which they densely adjoined to each other, that any fastening material were no longer required.

City Of Machu Picchu

Residents of Machu Picchu were mainly engaged in agriculture, tilling on climbing the slopes of the mountain terraces vegetables and corn. These terraces were built with great skill and fortified walls built of stones.

Above the castle dominates the Bastion of Huayna Picchu, built on top of the mountain. From here, the city with an area of 13 km2 is visible from height of the bird's flight.

Stone watch "intihuatana" ("the place where you catch the sun") served the Indian simultaneously sundial and calendar. The inhabitants of the city were very knowledgeable in astronomy and believed that their knowledge, they are obliged to "bearded God" Viracocha, son, which was the founder of Machu Picchu redheaded Manco Capac.

In the archives of Rio de Janeiro, English topographer and traveler P., Fawcett has found a document issued in 1743 one Portuguese, whose name remains unknown, why Fawcett called him conditionally Francisco-Raposo.

Squad Raposo made a long trek through the jungle for the opening of some legendary gold mines. Once, when a small group of Raposo, weary of the endless struggle of the jungle, where they stopped to rest, two soldiers managed to find the crack, it was possible to climb seemingly impregnable mountains. Cleft led on the top of the rock, from which the Portuguese suddenly saw the spread of the city.

When the group Raposo was in the city, it became clear that it was empty, and, by all appearances, looked ancient and abandoned a long time ago. Broad street led the Portuguese to the square in the center of which stood a huge column of black stone, and on it stood perfectly preserved statue of a man. Raposo was struck by a majestic look of the figure. He even respectfully crossed. Opposite the statue had stood the Palace, the walls of which are covered carving representing animals and birds.

Because everywhere met the wreckage of obelisks and walls, and stood gaping cracks, Raposo concluded that the city was destroyed by an earthquake, and the inhabitants fled.

In the document, read Fawcett, mentioned that Raposo really had found the treasure in a lost city and found abandoned mines, in which the Indians hunted rich silver ore. But to come back here again Raposo failed...