The Land of the Inca

Introduction:

The beautiful Andean mountains and breath-taking Incan ruin sites make Peru a popular place to visit in South America. Have you heard of Machu Picchu? It's one of the most famous examples of Incan ruins. My cousin and I drove a rental car from Lima (the capital of Peru) to Cuzco, passing through many small villages that are hidden within the valleys and along the sleep slopes of the Andes mountains. The people who live in these villages seem to enjoy their lives in the mountains. Some families can trace their family tree back generations to ancestors who were part of the Incan empire--which began in the 12th century!

I had no idea what to expect when I traveled to Peru. The current capital of Lima is densely populated. The cars and traffic were wild, and I didn’t know how the drivers could anticipate when other cars would randomly cut in front of each other. They didn’t honk much; they all rolled with the pace of the fast flow. Outside the cities, the mountains and jungle did not have traffic. It was a completely different world. My drive through the Andes mountains included many spectacular views and enabled me to glimpse at how local people live in these remote mountain areas. The capital Incan city of Cusco, Peru, was founded in 1100. Believe it or not, many of the stones that the Inca cut and placed as building foundations in Cuzco are still in use today!

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