beauty | rfljenksy – Practicing Simplicity

It’s easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top – Henry Ward Beecher

The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don’t always have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it. – Chris Pine

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. – Edward Abbey

People who don’t travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what’s in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live. — Martin Yan

: Nepal

: Nepal

There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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To experience sublime natural beauty is to confront the total inadequacy of language to describe what you see. Words cannot convey the scale of a view that is so stunning it is felt. — Eleanor Catton

Looking down:

There are places in the world that no picture can encompass the majesty and complete beauty of a place and the most recent place I have visited fits into that category. I was somewhat disappointed with many of my candid shots and resorted to taking panoramic photos as often as possible because the small shots though fair were not heart stopping. In retrospect it was a really large plan for a simple point and shoot. Though I do believe I was able to capture some of what I felt.

Machu Picchu is located in the Cuzco Region of Peru in South America. The common conception is that this relatively small area of land was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1472). Allegedly the complex was built in what is believed to have been “sacred” space. The mountains around this area hold a high religious importance to the Inca culture due to the way the sun and stars reflected and could be seen from this area.

The polished dry-stone walls are a classical representation of the Inca’s style of construction. I will share some close-ups in a different post. It’s all amazing and breath-taking in and of itself but even more so due to the location and size of the stone’s used to create these amazing structures in the time that they were created.

This location sits 7,970 feet above sea level which is actually lower than the city of Cuzco itself (11,200 ft). Many people who visit the area suffer from altitude sickness and are often short of breath when simply climbing the stones through the temples. the Incas had to manually maneuver these structures and stack them with none of the modern conveniences we have at our disposal today.

That last significant fact I’m going to point out in regards to why this place is so important is that due to its location, it was not actually known about during the Spanish conquest and therefore is one of the few relatively intact cultural site from that time period.

Currently there is a daily limit of 2500 people allowed to visit Machu Picchu. It seems a bit sad there is a limit at all but after visiting the area I completely understand. Even during my visit there were “tourists” climbing into unauthorized areas to take pictures on the edge of drop-offs for dramatic effects and trying to get pictures with some of the alpaca that live in this area.

Even with gentle castigations from the security some of the tourists would not comply with the instructions and warnings given. It’s a shame as I see more restrictions being placed on this very amazing area for that very reason.

Most of these panoramics are taken at Machu Picchu but a few are from Cusco and during the journey to the area. I hope you enjoy.

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