Machu Picchu Voted #1 Place to Visit Before You Die
Posted by Diane Valenti on Wed, Jan 04, 2012 @ 07:40 PM
It was down to the Pyramid of Giza and Machu Picchu in the recent Huffington Post poll to select the top place to see before you die. Machu Picchu won!
I’ve never been to the Pyramid of Giza. But, I have been to Machu Picchu…four times! The first three times, I traveled by train. The last time, I hiked the Inca Trail and arrived at the Sun Gate just as the sun was rising.
I can’t quite put my finger on what makes Machu Picchu so special. But, there is something undeniably mystical about the place. It is where I healed a rocky relationship with my father, fell in love for the first time after my divorce, and deepened a friendship that remains one of my most cherished to this day.
Theories abound as to the purpose of the site. Was it a religious retreat? A military installation? A university? No one knows why the Spanish never stumbled across it during their conquest of Peru or how the Inca’s engineered the site with such precision.
Even amongst the growing throngs of tourists, Machu Picchu never seems to lose its majesty. It feels eternal, somehow untouched.
I remember sitting perched on a stone wall by the Sun Gate alongside my fellow hikers from the Inca Trail. We watched the sunrise and the shadows of neighboring mountains retreat to slowly reveal Machu Picchu, as mysterious as ever.
What makes Machu Picchu the #1 place to see before you die? I guess you’ll just have to experience it for yourself to answer that question.
Explore our Llama Expeditions’ tours to Machu Picchu for more information.