Machu Picchu stands 2,430 m above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. It was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height; its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna.
The ruins of Machu Picchu are located in the Urubamba province. Nested on the eastern slopes of the Vilcanota mountain range, a chain of mountains stopped by the Apurimac and Urubamba Rivers, it stands at an altitude of 2,350 meters above sea level. Machu Picchu’s climate is subtropical with dense rainforests. The temperature is mild, warm and damp. The heaviest rainfalls are from the months of November through March, the months from April through October bring drier with hot temperatures. Typical plant life includes plaonayes, qientas, alisos, puya palm trees, ferns and more than 90 species of orchids!
The natural surroundings and the strategic location of Machu Picchu give this sanctuary great beauty, harmony, and balance unlike any other area in the world. There beautiful and enchanting rainforests is home of these magnificent and colorful orchids which just grow everywhere. Wildlife can be experience in the rainforest because you can see spectacled bear, cock-of-the-rocks, or tunqui, wildcats, and an extraordinary abundance of butterflies and insects that are unique to the region.
There are several legends about the origins or the Inca and the emergence of Manco Capac, who was the founder of the dynasty of princes of Cuzco and the Inca Kings. One such legends tells of strangers or new tribes that came from unknown lands across the sea in rafts or boats and landed on the coast, later either settling there or trekking further into the highlands. Other legends tell of the wandering of a clan in search of a permanent place to settle. This clan took up residence at the island sanctuary on Lake Titicaca. Subsequently, Manco left his 200 companions there with the assurance that they would find him again if they asked for the "Son of the Sun and Moon." He reportedly wandered slowly in a northwesterly direction to a shrine of Pacaritampu, about a two day walk from Cuzco. According to legend, Manco Capac had been prepared by a magician for his future as king.
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