Machu Picchu

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a secret kingdom in the sky? I live high up in the Andes mountains, so high that sometimes the clouds wrap around me like a soft, white blanket. I am a city made of stone, nestled between giant green peaks. My walls and steps are like a great big puzzle that someone put together perfectly. From up here, the world below looks like a tiny map, and eagles soar right past my windows. It feels like I'm touching the sky. I have been keeping a secret for a very, very long time, waiting for just the right moment to share my story with you.

My name is Machu Picchu. I was built a long, long time ago, around the year 1450. The people who made me were called the Inca, and they were amazing builders. They built me as a special place for their great ruler, Pachacuti. The Inca were so clever. They took giant, heavy stones and fit them together without any sticky glue or cement. They shaped each one just right so they locked together perfectly, like pieces in a puzzle. They said, “Our walls must be strong enough to last forever.” I have special stairs built right into the mountainside. These are my terraces, and the Inca grew yummy food like corn and potatoes on them. I also have temples where they watched the sun and the stars, and cozy stone houses where families lived, laughed, and worked together.

After many years, the Inca people quietly left me. The jungle around me grew and grew, covering my stone walls with green vines and bright flowers. I wasn't sad, though. It was like taking a long, quiet nap for hundreds of years, dreaming under the sun and stars. I was a hidden secret, waiting patiently. Then one day, in 1911, I was woken up. An explorer named Hiram Bingham was looking for lost cities. The people who lived in the mountains nearby knew I was here. They led him up the steep paths and through the thick jungle. When he saw me, he couldn't believe his eyes. My secret was finally ready to be shared with the whole world.

Today, my stone paths are filled with happy footsteps again. I love welcoming visitors from all over the world. They walk through my gates, touch my strong walls, and imagine what life was like for the Inca people so long ago. I am a special bridge to the past. When you visit me, you can feel the cleverness of the Inca and see the beauty of the mountains all around. I am here to whisper their stories to everyone who comes to listen, connecting today with a time long, long ago.