With the recent reopening of the ancient Incan citadel-city of Machu Picchu to tourists comes hope for the region’s battered economy, which is estimated to have lost a million dollars a day since heavy rains and flooding in late January stranded 4,000 vacationers and forced a two-month shutdown of the world well-known attraction. I was lucky enough to visit just before the calamity struck.
The first stop on any trip to Machu Picchu is Cuzco, an 11,000 foot high city founded in the 12th century, according to legend, when the first Incan king found a spot where he could plunge a golden rod into the Earth until it disappeared. Thus was born a city which, in the Incan language of Quechua, literally means “naval of the world.” Although the gold and riches Incan royalty draped over the city’s temples and palaces was plundered by the Spanish not long after their conquest in 1532, treasure of another sort awaits sightseers today: a fully intact Spanish colonial city built directly on top of distinctive Incan architecture. Throughout the city, keen eyes catch glimpses of large, smooth stonework carved and assembled miraculously without benefit of mortar. This jigsaw puzzle work is easily seen in the ruins of the Sun temple of Qorikancha and along the narrow alley of Loreto, just off the main Plaza de Armas.
