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Machu Picchu, the City of Magic

The leading rank

The Hanan-sector was reserved to organize the governmental and religious matters. This is in contrast to the Urin-sector where handicrafts were practiced. The animal used to represent the whole of this section is the Puma, lying down on the big abyss of Machu Picchu. Its royal form stands out with its raised head pointing west and the body in resting position. The head is shaped out of the terraces around the Intihuatana, the most sacred temple in Machu Picchu. The Intihuatana itself forms the crown of the Puma, the crown from where the Incas did their astronomical observations.

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picture of the Puma lying down

The temple with the three windows is on the back of the Puma. This temple is dedicated to the place where the father Wiracocha of the first Inca Manco Capac lives.

The stomach is the granite rock mine where they got the stones to build the temples.

The anus of the Puma is the main entrance of the city of Machu Picchu.

The other parts of the body are the temples, houses of priests and the Sapa Inca, the ritual places and terraces.

and the drawing

 

The Sacred Bird

Men and nature worked perfectly together to create this architectonic genius complex as a harmonic whole. Today we understand that Machu Picchu is one of the most beautiful creations of humankind. The complex rests in the womb of two mountains and is surrounded on both sides by an impressive abyss. The Vilcanota River meanders around the city as a snake. The subtropical rainforest with its forever mist and its picturesque waterfalls do honor the whole. This place is an unforgettable experience for every visitor.

Machu Picchu seen from the Huayna Picchu

All places previously described are united in a superior whole.

The genius designers built Machu Picchu in such way that the Sacred City looks like a majestic old Condor flying west where the sun goes to sleep, to the Milky Way and the Hanan Pacha (the upper world).

On his back the biggest bird in the world carries the most important religious symbols of the people of the Andes, so that the Old Bird is the messenger from humankind to eternity, to the infinite.

the drawing, a condor upside down
the condor flying west

The environment of the complex, the acrobatic building and the magical neighborhood capture every visitor to the Sacred City. Many books are written about Machu Picchu, millions of pictures are taken every year, but nothing can touch the experience of the sensation being in person on this sacred place, no picture, no film, no description can give the impression of how Machu Picchu really is as a majestic complex. Is Machu Picchu really the name of the sanctuary? Could it be that there exists a much older name according to the city, to the shape of the complex, an old condor?

Machu Pichiu : Old Bird

This might be the meaning hidden in the old name and the name given to the Sacred City, the Apu or the Spiritual Bird, still invoked by the local people for advice and healing and named to the highest summits in the neighborhood of the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba. The Apus who brought peace to the people and while flying over the Sacred Valley to the west, leaving a trace of light, to the Milky Way, where everything began and where he brings the Truth, the Absolute, crossing space and time, to the idea of God!

(From "The Sacred Valley of the Incas, Myths and Symbols" written by Fernando E. Elorrieta Salazar and Edgar Elorrieta Salazar, published by Sociedad Pacaritanpu Hatha, Cusco Peru 1996). In this well illustrated book there is much more explained about the ruins in the Sacred Valley. We truly advice every visitor to Peru to read this book.

 

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From: Dave posted at 02/07/2011 16:07:09 send a comment
On many photos of Huayna Picchu a perfectly straight line of green plants can be seen passing diagonally down to the right from the ridge that is nearest to Machu Picchu. For the plants to grow there must be a wide ledge to hold soil. Could this ledge in fact be a path across the face of the mountain created by the Incas? Has anybody had a close look at it?
From: Julie Chaides posted at 04/02/2007 12:10:22 send a comment
This website is very educational; it is also a helpful resourse of on-line information

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