Something is hidden! Go and find it! Go and search behind the mountains: there is something lost, lost and waiting for you to go! Go! “- Rudyard Kipling
We have all heard about the incredible citadel of Machu Picchu, others have had the good fortune to know it; However, many do not know about its enriching history and who was the first person to make it known to the world. Join us to discover a wonder: Machu Picchu.
The Inca citadel, Machu Picchu
The “lost” city of the Incas
An ancient stone citadel: sculpted terraces, granite buildings and polished walls that used to be part of religious and administrative headquarters were covered by centuries of vegetation. What had once been the capital of the Inca Empire had been abandoned for centuries. The truth is that this spectacular place was never lost, only forgotten by the inhabitants who lived around it.
Agustín Lizárraga was a Peruvian from Cusco who is considered the Official Discoverer of the archaeological complex of Machu Picchu. It is known that in 1902 he discovered the remains of this place and that he had failed attempts to make it known to the world, as he did not have the support of the government. Nine years later, on July 24, 1911, Hiram Bingham, an American history teacher, appears and arrives at Machu Picchu while searching for Vilcabamba, the lost city of the Incas. Bingham was guided by a land tenant, Melchor Arteaga, and accompanied by a sergeant of the Peruvian Civil Guard named Carrasco. When they arrived, they found two families of peasants living there: the Recharte and the Álvarez, who used the platforms on the south of the ruins to cultivate and drink water from an Inca canal that still worked and brought water from a spring. Pablo Recharte, one of the children of Machu Picchu, led Bingham to the urban area of the citadel covered by brushwood.
“Suddenly I found myself standing in front of the walls of a ruin and houses built with the best quality of Inca art, the walls were hard to see because trees and moss had covered the stones for centuries, but in the shade of bamboo and climbing the bushes were the visible walls made of blocks of white granite cut with the highest precision.I found bright temples, royal houses, a large square and thousands of houses.It seemed to be in a dream “- Hiram Bingham, book “The discovery of Machu Picchu ”
Bingham was very impressed by what he saw. With the auspices of Yale University, the National Geographic Society and the Peruvian government immediately began the scientific study of the site. Together with the engineer Ellwood Erdis, the osteologist George Eaton, the direct participation of Toribio Recharte and Anacleto Álvarez and a group of anonymous workers in the area, Bingham led archaeological work in Machu Picchu from 1912 to 1915 period in which the vegetation was cleared and Inca tombs were excavated from the city. The world knowledge of Machu Picchu was given in 1913 with the publication of an article in the National Geographic magazine. From that moment on, Hiram Bingham went down in history after being considered the Scientific Discoverer of Machu Picchu.
The main temple of Machu Picchu
How to get to Machu Picchu
To get to this wonder of the world, we invite you to live a magical experience aboard our trains:
Enjoy magical Cusco views and an unforgettable service aboard the PeruRail Vistadome train
Each one of our tourist and luxury services adapts to all types of travelers, schedules and budgets. Learn more about the services offered by each train here.
From the station of Poroy, near the city of Cusco or from the Urubamba station and the Ollantaytambo station, in the Sacred Valley, start an unforgettable adventure by train. To get to the Machu Picchu Pueblo station, you have to take a bus to get to the Inca Historical Sanctuary. Bus tickets can be purchased in the city of Cusco on Av. Infancia or directly in Machu Picchu Pueblo at the bus stop that goes up to the Ciudadela, the sale is limited.
Entrance to Machu Picchu
The entrance to the Inca Citadel can be acquired in the same Ciudadela or also in the INC of Cusco (Av. La Cultura 238, Huáscar Condominium, in front of the university stadium) or entering www.machupicchu.gob.pe.
What to bring
To enjoy Machu Picchu even more, we recommend you bring the following:
- Comfortable and warm clothing
- Caps
- Gloves
- Wool socks
- Bottled water
- Chocolate
- Lemon candies
- Sunscreen
- Lip
Do not miss the opportunity to discover a magical place with impressive architecture. Explore as Hiram Bingham did it and be amazed by the giant stones with which it was built and the mysticism that surrounds it.