Section 10, Detail BREPERULLA
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is an ancient abandoned city in the mountains of Peru.
It was built around the year 1450, and it served as a royal estate for the rulers of the Inca Empire. It had temples, houses, aqueducts, fortifications, and many terraces for farming.
Perched at 7,970 feet above sea level, it is surrounded by steep mountain peaks on three sides. This makes it hard to find and just as hard to reach.
No one is sure exactly when or why it was abandoned. It is often called the Lost City.
Enter Machu Picchu from the south, turn left, and head up the stairs from the main road until you come to a set of walls and terraces. Look for a large, flat slab of rock carved from a single boulder. There is a row of six holes drilled into it.
Many small pebbles will be scattered around the area. Gather six of them and drop one into each hole. As soon as you drop the last pebble, you will hear a sound like the crack of a whip, followed by a loud twang. It’s a cable being pulled tight.
Climb over the low wall and turn to your right. Look carefully and you will see a chair dangling from above. It is painted the same color as the mountain and sky behind it, so you’ll have to take a close look at things to spot it. There is room on the chair for two large people, or two children and a small animal, or one full-grown llama.
Once all passengers are ready, rock the chair until it slips off the brace and drops onto the giant cable. You will gain speed rapidly as you glide around the mountain and zoom down through the forest.
This is the fastest way to travel from Machu Picchu to Lima, Peru, about 250 miles away.