San Ramon, California resident Vikas Mishra is a solutions architect with experience working for AWS (Amazon Web Services). Outside his professional work in San Ramon, Vikas Mishra has traveled to five continents and visited the ruins of the ancient city of Machu Picchu.
A designated World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Machu Picchu sits atop an 8,000-foot peak in the Andes mountain range of Peru. American explorer Hiram Bingham revealed it to the world in 1911, although it was likely visited earlier by white missionaries. It immediately became a much sought-after destination.
Consisting of some 200 stone structures, the site is now believed by many archaeologists to have been a home for emperors and nobles of the Inca Empire, which ruled western South America before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century.
The complex was very well-engineered, with walls, terraces, and stairways seemingly carved out of the surrounding rock. An extensive irrigation system demonstrates the Incas’ construction skills, which involved cutting stones so precisely they fit together without mortar.
Machu Picchu has also been a source of controversy. Bingham shipped many artifacts from the site to Yale University for analysis. The Peruvian government sued successfully for their return during the Obama administration.
A designated World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Machu Picchu sits atop an 8,000-foot peak in the Andes mountain range of Peru. American explorer Hiram Bingham revealed it to the world in 1911, although it was likely visited earlier by white missionaries. It immediately became a much sought-after destination.
Consisting of some 200 stone structures, the site is now believed by many archaeologists to have been a home for emperors and nobles of the Inca Empire, which ruled western South America before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century.
The complex was very well-engineered, with walls, terraces, and stairways seemingly carved out of the surrounding rock. An extensive irrigation system demonstrates the Incas’ construction skills, which involved cutting stones so precisely they fit together without mortar.
Machu Picchu has also been a source of controversy. Bingham shipped many artifacts from the site to Yale University for analysis. The Peruvian government sued successfully for their return during the Obama administration.
