Orientations in and Surrounding Machu Picchu

Abstract

Machu Picchu has been variously described as a citadel (Bingham 1930), a lost city (Bingham 1948), a royal estate (Rowe 1990), and a sacred center (Reinhard 2002). Machu Picchu was likely recognized by the Incas as a place of power because of its many granite outcrops and caves and the cardinality of mountains such as Veronica, Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu, Pumasillo, and the snow peak of Salcantay. Salazar and Salazar (2014) state that this is a sacred place and that the mountains Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu form a “divine pair.” They continue that considerations such as this played a part in the decision to build here. They also state that in Quechua “Machu Pichiu” means “Old Bird” and that the general ground plan of the sacred site resembles the form of a condor when viewed from above, such as from the top of Huayna Picchu.