Previous Story
SIS students take in Machu Picchu, other Peruvian sites
|
Posted on Aug 31 2011
Machu Picchu, arguably the most famous site in Peru, is celebrating this year its 100 years of re-discovery.
Machu Picchu, also called the “Lost City of the Incas,” is one of the most important cultural sites in the world and is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, which include The Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and Petra in Jordan.
The Incas built Machu Picchu atop an Andean peak 7,970 feet (2,430 meters) high, with a breathtaking view across the inhospitable abysses that surround it. Some experts believe it was a refuge for one or more Inca rulers, others that it was a religious sanctuary.
Machu Picchu was largely unknown to the outside world, abandoned and covered in highland jungle, until July 7, 1911, when Yale University historian and explorer Hiram Bingham reached Machu Picchu and later announced its existence. He became famous as the site’s modern discoverer, though Peruvian Agustin Lizarraga had been there first. He wrote on one of the citadel’s stones with a piece of charcoal: “Lizarraga, July 14, 1902, for posterity.”
A group of 16 Saipan International School students recently visited Peru in a fast-paced journey that brought them not just to Machu Picchu but also to some of the most picturesque regions in the country. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]
