The Enigmatic City: Machu Picchu

There is no greater work that resulted from the ideology of the INKA dynasty than the spiritual sanctuary of Machu Picchu, which is located in a spectacular setting within a 360 degree ring of Andean mountain peaks and subtropical forests.

In the wake of the New Age of Enlightenment, the lost City has become a powerful magnet for spiritual seekers as well as for those who are attracted by the sheer splendor of it.

It is easy to be overcome with awe and emotions at the sight of this magnificent testimonial of an ideology, which is a role model for the natural interrelationship between man, the cosmic forces and the Divine!

The traveler is captivated by a strange, unknown euphoria - the mystical energies still seem to be alive.

The multiplicity of magical elements found in Machu Picchu confirms its designation as a spiritual sanctuary, since it was designed to satisfy needs of an extreme ideological nature, but this did not lessen the importance of the political and administrative functions of the complex.

Once the sacred geography had justified the importance of the site, a huge number of workers began the titanic job of defrosting the surrounding jungle to clear the land to allow architects, priests and amautas (astronomers) to plant the building of the complex.

The work must have been extremely difficult because of the steepness of the terrain and the unusual nature of the whole design, which is in the shape of the Condor flying to meet the Milky Way, the Way of the Origins. This bird also contains a series of ritual spaces within it, each with its own peculiar meaning and symbolism, all molded into one final and supreme design.

Today, we recognize this site as one of the most precious legacies of humanity. Here, the work of Man and Nature fuse into one, to establish a relationship of understanding and harmony between both of them.

The beliefs of the INKA were founded in the cosmic vision that Nature and Time are a single living entity, generating the vitality of the other beings - both tangible and intangible - who, in turn, provide mankind with benevolent gifts through the medium of their spirits who live and act in reciprocity with the acts of men. (s. "The Sacred Valley of the Incas, Myths and Symbols", by Fernando E. Elorrieta Salazar and Edgar Elorrieta Salazar