Machu Pichu

Machu Picchu was most likely built and occupied from the mid-15th to the early or mid-16th century. Based on its construction style, people think that it might have been built as a palace for Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui who was in charge from 1438–71. A bunch of supposedly female skeletons were excavated there which led Hiram Bingham to think that it was a sanctuary for the ¨chosen women.¨

However, once people got smart enough to have fancy tech, they used it and found a bunch of male skeletons as well. Both skeletons and material stuff made archaeologists think that it may have been used as a royal retreat. We still don't know why it was abandoned, but lack of water is a possible cause.

Machu Picchu was ¨discovered¨ by explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. Bingham was not the original discoverer, and there was evidence to prove this. Machu Picchu was originally discovered by Agustín Lizárraga, who carved his name and the year (1902) into the wall However, before Bingham destroyed the evidence to trick people into thinking that he found Machu Picchu, he took a photo of it, undermining himself. He then proceeded to loot the place and steal whatever he could get his hands on. When it was ¨discovered,¨ there were still  two families living in some of the old houses.  Other explorers from several European countries had also visited Machu Picchu’s ruins before Bingham. Machu Picchu was re-discovered several times before it was announced to the western world. It almost happened a few years earlier than 1911 when Professor Curtis Farabee from Harvard led an expedition that came very close but not quite to Machu picchu.

Machu Picchu is (in my opinion) best seen from far away. It is still amazing and cool and all up close, but the best part is when you are climbing maybe the 3rd stair set and you haven't seen anything other than a house or two and some terraces and then halfway up you can see the whole thing all of a sudden and you're like ¨Oh, wow. That's big.¨ The whole thing just kind of goes everywhere. Up close and down inside, it's less impressive but more interesting because you can see all the details like roof beam slots and door tie-offs, plus small caves they found mummies in. I think it has changed a lot though, because when my dad went 20 years ago, you could do whatever and it was like ⅓ of the price that it is now. He said that when he came, the rules were so relaxed that there were people playing soccer on the terraces. Now, the list of don't bring this and that's not allowed and so on takes up half the ticket.

P.S. The only reason that this is so formal or has any type of correctness or that it exists at all is because my parents assigned it as schoolwork