Inca Trail to Machu Picchu terminus at the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The two longer routes require an ascent to beyond above sea level, which can result in altitude sickness. Concern about overuse leading to erosion has led the Peruvian government to place a limit on the number of people who may hike this trail per season, and to sharply limit the companies that can provide guides. As a result, advance booking is mandatory. A maximum of 500 people are allowed on the trail each day, of which only 200 are trekkers, the rest being guides and porters. As a result, the high
Intihuatana, Urubamba Intihuatana, Urubamba Intihuatana (possibly from in the Quechua spelling "Inti Watana" or "Intiwatana") at the archaeological site of Machu Picchu (Machu Pikchu) is a notable ritual stone associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the Inca in South America. Machu Picchu was thought to have been built c. 1450 by the Sapa Inca Pachacuti as a country estate, althought it is equally likely that the Inca discovered much older ruins (the inti watana, the temple of the sun, and the temple of the condor) and opted to build this majestic estate on older foundations. . In the late 16th