Machu Picchu - Peru

It's impossible to go to Peru and not going to it's most famous attraction, Machu Picchu. 

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and in 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Besides the Titicaca card, Ara also sent me a Machu Picchu card. The other one was sent by Veronika a few years ago.

Fotografia: © Hennry Abanto

Embedded within a dramatic landscape at the meeting point between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon Basin, the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is among the greatest artistic, architectural and land use achievements anywhere and the most significant tangible legacy of the Inca civilization.

 Built in the fifteenth century Machu Picchu was abandoned when the Inca Empire was conquered by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. It was not until 1911 that the archaeological complex was made known to the outside world.

The approximately 200 structures making up this outstanding religious, ceremonial, astronomical and agricultural centre are set on a steep ridge, crisscrossed by stone terraces. Following a rigorous plan the city is divided into a lower and upper part, separating the farming from residential areas, with a large square between the two. 

To this day, many of Machu Picchu’s mysteries remain unresolved, including the exact role it may have played in the Incas’ sophisticated understanding of astronomy and domestication of wild plant species.

The massive yet refined architecture of Machu Picchu blends exceptionally well with the stunning natural environment, with which it is intricately linked. Numerous subsidiary centres, an extensive road and trail system, irrigation canals and agricultural terraces bear witness to longstanding, often on-going human use. The rugged topography making some areas difficult to access has resulted in a mosaic of used areas and diverse natural habitats. The Eastern slopes of the tropical Andes with its enormous gradient from high altitude “Puna” grasslands and Polylepis thickets to montane cloud forests all the way down towards the tropical lowland forests are known to harbour a rich biodiversity and high endemism of global significance. Despite its small size the property contributes to conserving a very rich habitat and species diversity with remarkable endemic and relict flora and fauna. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274

Lake Titicaca - Peru

One of my friends and I have constantly been talking about a trip to Peru, it's one of those trips we want to do together, just don't know when, not this year for sure. My friend went to Bolivia last summer and has been to the Titicaca Lake, I'm pretty sure she wants to visit the peruvian side of the lake too.

Ara has been there last October and that's when she sent me the 1st of these cards. The 2nd was sent by Mery in 2008. 

Fotografia: © Hennry Abanto

Located between Bolivia and Peru, Lake Titicaca is one of the most fascinating lakes in the world. It is situated at a very high altitude, at over 3800 meters above sea level, and a tour at Titicaca is definitely an unforgettable experience for any visitor. 

When visiting Lake Titicaca, the town of Puno is the best place to stay, on the Peruvian side of the lake.

The town of Puno is an interesting place to visit as it is the capital of folklore of Peru.

Lake Titicaca is a sacred place for the Inca civilization, as the Incan mythology says that the first Inca king, Manco Capac, was born here. According to the Incan mythology, this is the place where the world was created from, when the god Viracocha came out of the lake and created the sun, the stars and the first people. 

You will have many places to discover on the shore of Lake Titicaca, as well as on the many islands that exist on the lake. - in: http://laketiticaca.com/

Inca Trail - Peru

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is on the bucket list of many hikers and adventurous travelers. My friend Miguel went to Peru last year, went to Machu Picchu but didn't he didn't hike this four-day trail. 

When he sent me this card, he didn't know that this trail was already added to the UNESCO WHS as part of the Qhapaq Ñan Andean Road System a few months earlier. It was a great and unexpected surprise. 

Foto Colección: Neus Escandell-Tur y Alexandra Arellano

Proving that the journey is as important as the destination, Peru’s famous Inca Trail has been named a new UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014, giving Peru a total of 12 listed sites.

Listed as the ‘Qhapaq Ñan Andean road system,’ the UNESCO site covers a mind-boggling 30,000-kilometer network of 15th-century Incan roads, connecting the one-time Inca capital of Cusco with cities all around Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Chile, and all six countries teamed up to apply for the prestigious UNESCO status. Winding through verdant valleys, desert plains and thick rainforest, the trails are an extraordinary feat of engineering, running all the way from the coast to the 6,000-meter peaks of the Andes, and dotted with some of South America’s most impressive Inca Ruins. - in: http://thingstodo.viator.com/cusco-machu-picchu/inca-trail-named-unesco-site/

Rio Abiseo National Park - Peru

I've only received mail twice this week but i still have lots of cards to upload and show here. 

Lilia sent me another one of my UNESCO missing sites. Rio Abiseo National Park was created in 1983 to protect the fauna and flora of the rainforests that are characteristic to that region of the Andes, and was added to the WHS list in 1990.

The park is also home to over 30 pre-Columbian archaeological sites, being Gran Pajatén the most famous of them. 

Photo by Juan Antonio Ahón Jiraldo 

Gran Pajatén sits on a hilltop, and consists of a series of at least 26 circular stone structures atop numerous terraces and stairways. The ruins occupy an area of about 20,000 m². The principal buildings are decorated with slate mosaics displaying human, bird and geometric motifs. Analysis of ceramic samples and radiocarbon dates show that the area was occupied as early as 200 BCE, but the visible building ruins on the present site were constructed during Inca times. Based primarily on architectural evidence, the settlement is attributed to the Chachapoyas culture. - in: wikipedia

Cuzco & Arequipa - Peru

The last 2 cards sent from Jusseli are from Cuzco and Arequipa in Peru, both classified as Unesco World Heritage Sites.

Foto Colección: Neus Escandell Tur y Alexandra Arellano

Cuzco is a city in southeastern Peru. Cuzco was the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. It is a major tourist destination and receives almost 2 million visitors a year.

The card shows Cuzco Cathedral and the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesus (Church of the Society of Jesus), both located in the Plaza de Armas.

Fenno Publicidad

Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. The historic centre of Arequipa was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, in recognition of its architecture and historic integrity.

The Monastery of Saint Catherine (Spanish: Santa Catalina) is a monastery of nuns of the Domincan Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru. It was built in 1580 and was enlarged in the 17th century. The over 20,000-square-meter monastery was built predominantly in the Mudéjar style, and is characterized by its vividly painted walls. There are approximately 20 nuns currently living in the northern corner of the complex; the rest of the monastery is open to the public. - in: wikipedia

Veronika's cards

It's almost 4 am here but i want to finish upding because i don't know when i'll be able to make more updates. Lets end for today with the 3 cards Veronika "clarividence" sent me.

"Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts originally constructed by the Chavín, a pre-Inca culture, around 900 BC. The site is located 250 kilometers (160 mi) north of Lima, Peru. Chavín de Huántar has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Chavín de Huántar was initially built around 900 BC. While the fairly large population was based on an agricultural economy, the city's location at the headwaters of the Marañón River, between the coast and the jungle, made it an ideal location for the dissemination and collection of both ideas and material goods. This archeological site is a large ceremonial center that has revealed a great deal about the Chavín culture. Chavín de Huántar served as a gathering place for people of the region to come together and worship. The transformation of the center into a valley-dominating monument had a complex effect; it became a pan-regional place of importance, such that being at Chavin de Huantar had value in itself: for witnessing ritual, consulting an oracle, or entering a cult.
Findings at Chavín de Huántar indicate that social instability and upheaval began to occur between 500 and 300 BC, at the same time that the larger Chavín civilization began to decline. Large ceremonial sites were abandoned, some unfinished, and were replaced by villages and agricultural land. At Chavín de Huántar, no later than 500 BC, a small village replaced the Circular Plaza. The plaza was occupied by a succession of groups, and building stones and stone carvings were salvaged for use in house walls. Multiple occupation floors indicate the village was continuously occupied through the 1940s." - in: wikipedia

"The city of Tiwanaku, capital of a powerful pre-Hispanic empire that dominated a large area of the southern Andes and beyond, reached its apogee between 500 and 900 AD. Its monumental remains testify to the cultural and political significance of this civilisation, which is distinct from any of the other pre-Hispanic empires of the Americas. The ruins of Tiwanaku bear striking witness to the power of the empire that played a leading role in the development of the Andean prehispanic civilization.

The buildings of Tiwanaku are exceptional examples of the ceremonial and public architecture and art of one of the most important manifestations of the civilizations of the Andean region." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/567

La Paz (Full name : Nuestra Señora de La Paz) is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department.
Located at an altitude of 3,660 metres (12,008 ft), it is the world's highest capital city.

From Peru

These are the 6 great cards i've received today from Peru sent by Mery "maypar". It took more than 1 month to arrive but it was worth waiting :) Thanks Mery.

This beautiful sunset is one of the attractions of the Madre de Dios region, in the southeast Peru . "The region is almost entirely low-lying Amazonian rainforest.The territory embraces high and low jungle zones. Madre de Dios is mainly a province with abundant virgin jungles, subjugating landscapes and countless micro-climates. It is possibly the least eroded and exploited area of the Peruvian Amazons. A land with wide, slow rivers and beautiful lagoons surrounded by the most exhuberant vegetation: Madre de Dios has the best soil of the Amazon jungles. Also, this region shelters native tribes for whom the advance of civilization has not yet arrived." - in: http://www.perucontact.com/en/conozca/madre_dios.php

A night view of the Plaza de Armas, historic centre of Lima with the Archbishop Palace and Basilica Cathedral. "The Archbishop Palace is the home of the Archbishop of Lima. The first major church began construction in 1535. Pope Paul III turned it into an episcopal seat in 1541.
The Basilica Cathedral of Lima, which has become one of the main symbols of the city, started construction the same year the city was founded; 1535. Since then there have been numerous remodilations. The Cathedral of Lima displays a form architecture that makes it unique in all of South America, of the style of the viceroyal time." - in: wikipedia

"Located in the arid Peruvian coastal plain, some 400 km south of Lima, the geoglyphs of Nasca and the pampas of Jumana cover about 450 km2. These lines, which were scratched on the surface of the ground between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, are among archaeology's greatest enigmas because of their quantity, nature, size and continuity. The geoglyphs depict living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary beings, as well as geometric figures several kilometres long. They are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/700

"The historic centre of Arequipa, built in volcanic sillar rock, represents an integration of European and native building techniques and characteristics, expressed in the admirable work of colonial masters and Criollo and Indian masons. This combination of influences is illustrated by the city's robust walls, archways and vaults, courtyards and open spaces, and the intricate Baroque decoration of its facades.
The ornamented architecture in the historic centre of Arequipa represents a masterpiece of the creative integration of European and native characteristics, crucial for the cultural expression of the entire region. Criterion iv The historic centre of Arequipa is an outstanding example of a colonial settlement, challenged by the natural conditions, the indigenous influences, the process of conquest and evangelization, as well as the spectacular nature of its setting." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1016

Chan Chan Archaeological Zone. On the back of the card: Chan Chan: the world's largest pre-Hispanic mud-brick citadel. The ancient Chimu Kingdom (700-1400 AD) founded their capital by the banks of the Moche River in the department of la Libertad and called it Jang-Juang, which in the ancient Mochica language means "sun-sun".
Chan Chan was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The city is severely threatened by erosion from El Niño, which causes heavy rains and flooding on the Peruvian coast.

Finally, a card of the Pastoruri Glacier, 1 of the 663 glaciers in the Huascarán National Park, a national park in the Cordillera Blanca, a range of the Andes, in Ancash region.
"In 1985 the park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Its protection was initially arranged by the Peruvian government in 1975 in order to safeguard flora and fauna, geological formations, archaeological remains and the panoramic scenery of the Cordillera Blanca, and to encourage scientific research into the area's natural and cultural resources. Tourism is promoted in the area, making its protected status a source of wealth for its inhabitants and others." - in: wikipedia

Peruvian UNESCO sites

I'm happy today. I've received cards from a new country, Peru, sent from Chile, thanks to nice Veronika "clarividence", all of them unesco.

Plaza de Armas with the Government Palace.

"Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru. Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as the City of the Kings. It became the most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru and, after the Peruvian War of Independence, the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in its metropolitan area.

The Historic centre of Lima was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 due to its large number of historical buildings dating from the Spanish colonial era." - in wikipedia.

"Situated in the Peruvian Andes, Cuzco developed, under the Inca ruler Pachacutec, into a complex urban centre with distinct religious and administrative functions. It was surrounded by clearly delineated areas for agricultural, artisan and industrial production. When the Spaniards conquered it in the 16th century, they preserved the basic structure but built Baroque churches and palaces over the ruins of the Inca city." in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/273