While hiking through the high Andes in 1911, American educator Hiram Bingham uncovered the ruins of this ancient Incan site. Machu Picchu, which in Quechua means 'Old Peak', was a place for agricultural, social, scientific, and spiritual practices and is comprised of assorted terraces,

Machu Picchu View larger image

labyrinths, and altars. One particular pillar of this ancient mountain town, dedicated to astronomical observation, is an example of the intellectual superiority of the Incan people. The Intihuatana stone (“hitching post of the sun”) has been proven to be an exact indicator of the spring and autumn equinoxes appearing directly over this stone at high noon on the 21st of March and September.

Intihuatana Stone View larger image