Machu Picchu Overlook Photograph by Catherine Sherman

Machu Picchu Overlook

by Catherine Sherman

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Title

Machu Picchu Overlook

Artist

Catherine Sherman

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

"Machu Picchu Overlook" by Catherine Sherman.

Morning clouds swirl over Huayna Picchu (young peak), which towers over the Machu Picchu (old peak) citadel.

Tourists explore the ruins of this Inca city, thought to be an estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti, who ruled 1438 to 1472. For years, I had hoped to visit this mystical place, and here I was, a little out of breath because of the high Andes altitude, but very happy. My family was here, too. My son and daughter climbed Huayna. The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu and built temples and terraces on its top. The trail to reach it is very steep and narrow, but the view (I hear) is amazing. The peak of Huayna Picchu is about 8,920 feet (2,720 meters) above sea level, or about 1,180 ft (360 meters) higher than Machu Picchu. I had signed up to climb it, but I didn't get any higher than a few yards up its base.

Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire and was abandoned in 1572. This citadel is probably the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. Although the Machu Picchu citadel is only about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Cusco, the Inca capital, the Spanish never found it and consequently did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. After Machu Picchu was abandoned, the surrounding jungle grew over the site, and few knew of its existence. American historian Hiram Bingham brought international attention to the site in 1911. The National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.

In 1983 UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization." In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In 1981 Peru declared an area of 325.92 square kilometres (125.84 sq mi) surrounding Machu Picchu as a "Historical Sanctuary" It's a very popular tourist destination, but because of the pressure of it being loved to death, tourist numbers are limited each day.

Featured in "UNESCO World Heritage Sites" group (11/12/2014); "Women Photographers - One A Day" group (11/12/2014); "CLOUDS Always the same but never the same" group (11/13/2014); "3 a Day Waiting Room Art" group (11/13/2014); "Premium FAA Artists" group (11/15/2014); "Unique Shots" group (04/20/2015); "Images That Excite You" group (04/24/2015); "The World We See" group (04/24/2015); "Top Travel Pics" group (05/10/2015); "Philanthropic Artists For a Cause" group (05/11/2015); "3 a Day AAA Images" group (05/15/2015)