Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas", as it was dubbed by the man who rediscovered it in the last century, is among the greatest tourist attractions in South America today and ranks among the most outstanding symbols in the Andean cultures.The legendary Inca settlement of Machu Picchu has become one of the world's iconic areas. Its haunting aura is enhanced by the mystery surrounding its use and abandonment.Machu Picchu is a manmade masterpiece blends into nature in the Andes.

马丘比丘在上个世纪被再度发掘出来，发掘者称之为“印加失落之城”，它是当今南美顶级旅游胜地之一，是安第斯多种文明中最为耀眼的象征之一。传说中的马丘比丘印加沉降已成为世界的标志性地区之一。它的使用和废弃深了它神秘的光环。被称为与安第斯的大自然融为一体的人工杰作。



The ancient city of Machu Picchu attracts visitors from all over the world. Historians believe the Inca began building Machu Picchu around the 1450s, but because they left no written records behind, no one knows exactly what their purpose was. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows.

马丘比丘古城吸引了来自世界各地的游客。历史学家认为，印加人在1450年始围绕马丘比丘，而是因为他们没有留下任何文字记载的背后，没有人确切地知道他们的目的是什么。马丘比丘的建筑具有印加传统风格，抛光干石墙。其主要建筑有Intihuatana，太阳庙，以及三窗户的房间。



Johan Reinhard (Archaeologist): The Inca royal family would go there for different kinds of ceremonies,and we do know that the Incas had a very strong ritual element there. There are some who think that maybe it was just a retreat. They went there to have a nice, you know, retreat from all the hubbub of the capital city of Cuzco. But within a hundred years after the Inca began building this impressive city, they started to abandon it.

约翰莱因哈德（考古学家）认为：印加王室成员将前往那里进行各种不同的仪式，因为我们知道，在古代的印加，有一个非常强烈的宗教元素的存在。还有一些人认为，也许这里只是一个休养的静所。他们去那里逃避所有的喧哗，躲避战乱。但在开始建设这个城市之后一百年，他们又放弃了这个令人印象深刻的印加城市。



Reinhard: Machu Picchu was probably abandoned or began to be abandoned already before the Spanish came, and that’s because around 1525 there was a civil war. After the Spanish arrived seven years later, in 1532, the Inca deliberately burned the forest around Machu Picchu. They burned it because the foliage re-grows and completely covers it and made it virtually impassable.

莱因哈德：在西班牙人来之前，马丘比丘就可能已经被遗弃或即将被放弃，这是因为1525年左右有一个内战。西班牙人到达后七年后的1532年，印加人故意烧了马丘比丘周围的森林。他们焚烧树叶，因为它重新增长和完全覆盖它，使它几乎不可逾越。



Perhaps, thanks to the Inca’s efforts to hide the city, the Spanish never found Machu Picchu. It was lost to the wider world until geographer Hiram Bingham rediscovered it in 1911.In 1983, Machu Picchu was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As archaeologists learn more about what happened here, new questions continue to arise, guaranteeing that Machu Picchu will remain a place of mystery for years to come.

或许，应该感谢印加为隐藏这个城市而做出的努力，西班牙从未发现马丘比丘。马丘比丘成为失落的城市，直到地理学家海勒姆宾厄姆在1911年重新发现这里。1983年，马丘比丘被联合国教科文组织命名为世界遗产。作为考古学家了解这里发生的事情更多，新的问题继续出现，马丘比丘将在未来几年保持它神秘的面貌。