Machu Picchu

In this world, there's a mysterious and cool place called Machu Picchu! It's in a very, very faraway land called Peru, and it's said to be an ancient city on a very, very high mountain. It's like those old houses drawn in textbooks, but Machu Picchu's houses are still standing! Machu Picchu means 'old peak.' Isn't it amazing that a city was built on a mountain over 2,000 meters high? 2,000 meters is several times taller than the tallest building in our school! And these houses were built by the Inca people from a long, long time ago. How did they move such huge stones without excavators or reinforced concrete like we have? It's truly incredible! What's even more special is that the Inca people didn't have a writing system, so they left no records. Machu Picchu was discovered only after a very, very long time, which is why it's called the 'Lost City of the Incas.' Inside Machu Picchu, there are three famous structures: the Intihuatana stone, the Temple of the Sun, and the Temple of the Three Windows. Just hearing the names sounds special. I guess they must have been very important places for the Inca people, perhaps for worship or meetings. These structures are still very well-preserved. I think the coolest part is that the floating city of 'Laputa' in the famous Japanese animated movie 'Castle in the Sky' by master animator Hayao Miyazaki was inspired by Machu Picchu! How awesome is that! In 1983, Machu Picchu was designated a 'World Heritage site' by an organization called UNESCO.