{"id":1062,"date":"2012-02-02T17:38:27","date_gmt":"2012-02-02T21:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?p=998"},"modified":"2012-12-07T10:37:05","modified_gmt":"2012-12-07T15:37:05","slug":"student-travel-to-the-wonders-of-the-world-machu-picchu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/student-travel-to-the-wonders-of-the-world-machu-picchu","title":{"rendered":"Student Travel to the Wonders of the World: Machu Picchu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1003\" title=\"View of Machu Picchu taken on an Explorica educational tour\" src=\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Wish-You-Were-Here-v2-045.jpg\" alt=\"View of Machu Picchu taken on an Explorica educational tour\" width=\"500\" height=\"217\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Machu Picchu (meaning <em>Old City <\/em>in Incan) is arguably the most amazing site in Peru, if not in South America. So much so, it\u2019s even got archaeologists arguing about its original purpose. Some say this 15<sup>th<\/sup> century Incan city was built as a secret ceremonial center. Though it\u2019s debated whether this was in honor of the sacred Andean landscape or the Incan Sun god, Inti. Others have more cynically suggested that it served as a prison. But by far the most popular theory is that Machu Picchu was built by an Incan Emperor named Pachacuti (considered a Peruvian hero) to celebrate the defeat of a rival tribe called the Chancas.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-999  alignnone\" title=\"Explorica student traveler at the top of Machu Picchu\" src=\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Peru-2009-261-HIRES.jpg\" alt=\"Explorica student traveler at the top of Machu Picchu\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s so magical about Machu Picchu? Well, not only is it located high up in the Andes, but it\u2019s completely invisible from below. And its inhabitants got all the food and resources they needed in this remote location. Machu Picchu was such a secret that even the Spanish Conquistadors didn\u2019t find it when they came over to South America in the 1400s.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1004\" title=\"Explorica travelers at Machu Picchu\" src=\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Peru-2009-466.jpg\" alt=\"Explorica travelers at Machu Picchu\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Even more impressive is that not a drop of mortar was used to cement the walls of the city\u2019s 140 buildings containing temples, bathhouses, homes and sanctuaries. Instead, clever Incans cut blocks of stone so precisely that when fitted together you\u2019d be hard pressed to get even a knife in the join.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1005\" title=\"Explorica student traveler with wildlife at Machu Picchu\" src=\"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Peru-2009-501.jpg\" alt=\"Explorica student traveler with wildlife at Machu Picchu\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sadly, Machu Picchu was abandoned a mere 100 years after it was built. (And it\u2019s probably because the city\u2019s inhabitants contracted nasty diseases, such as small pox, carried over to Peru by Spanish Conquistadors.) But don\u2019t worry because not all is lost in the <em>Lost City of the Incas. <\/em>Thanks to a dedicated team of restorers you\u2019ll be able to capture some of the wonder of Machu Picchu today as it was back in its full glory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Machu Picchu (meaning Old City in Incan) is arguably the most amazing site in Peru, if not in South America. So much so, it\u2019s even got archaeologists arguing about its original purpose. Some say this 15th century Incan city was built as a secret ceremonial center. Though it\u2019s debated whether this was in honor of <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/student-travel-to-the-wonders-of-the-world-machu-picchu\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,63,172],"tags":[58,195,226,18],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parents","category-students","category-teachers","tag-educational-travel","tag-educational-travel-peru","tag-machu-picchu","tag-peru"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2049,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions\/2049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}