Tag Archives: Machu Picchu

today’s holiday: La Fiesta de Agua


La Fiesta de Agua

The Water Festival in San Pedro de Casta, Lima Department, Peru, accompanies the annual cleaning and maintaining of the river canals. The town mayor goes to the cave where Pariapunko, a deity of water, is believed to reside and implores him to flood the community with fresh water. Then La Toma, the gate that holds back the Carhuayumac River, is opened, and the water is allowed to course through the newly repaired canals. A procession of horsemen follows the path of the water as it makes its way to the gorge of Carhuayumac. More… Discuss

Machu Picchu


Machu Picchu

Perhaps the most spectacular ruin in the Americas, Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan fortress city in Peru. Once the retreat of an Incan ruler, the terraced city is perched upon a narrow saddle between two sharp peaks high in the Andes Mountains and sprawls across 5 square miles (13 sq km). Rediscovered in 1911, it is one of the largest and most intact pre-Columbian sites yet found and contains rare examples of religious monuments. What does “Machu Picchu” mean in the Quechua language? More… Discuss