Machu Picchu in the Andes

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The ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2,430 meters between the peaks of Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu. Its founder, Pachacutec Yupanqui, introduced the cult around the sun god Inti. You can reach the ruined city of Cusco by train that goes to Aquas Calientes. From there, the bus takes you in serpentines up to the city. Machu Picchu can also be reached in an authentic way via the Inca Trail (Camino Inca) - a multi-day hike over several high passes above the valley of the Urubamba River. We came to this impressive city as visitors in 1998 and at that time did not encounter any streams of tourists, so that our photographs also show an almost unpopulated or unvisited ruined city. However, the number of visitors rose sharply in the course of the following years, so that, for example, over 1,411,000 tourists were counted in 2017 - an average of 3,900 people per day! The number of visitors is now limited, so you should find out whether you have a chance of a visit at the planned time.

The 1st photo is available as NFT here: https://rarible.com/token/0x134a52b190e24d75b839f7b03a476bd4eb7460b4:8?

Pictures 1: By train from Cusco to Aqua Calientes through the Urubambatal
Pictures 2: Machu Picchu - today's ruined city of the Incas
Bild 3: Karin in the terraces of the Inca town
Picture 4: Jürgen in front of Machu Picchu