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MACHU PICCHU

24th January, 2023 MISCELLANEOUS

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About:

  • Peru's Government decided to indefinitely shut down the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu.
    • The Culture Ministry of Peru said that they decided to close the country’s most famous tourist attraction to protect the safety of tourists and the population in general.
  • Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley.
    • It is built in the 15th century and later abandoned.
    • It is famous for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, and intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments and panoramic views.
    • Its exact former use remains a mystery.

Peru

  • Peru is a country in western South America. It lies wholly in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • It is bordered by;
    • Ecuador and Colombia in the North.
    • Brazil in the East.
    • Bolivia in the Southeast.
    • Chile in the South.
  • The Andes Mountains run parallel to the Pacific Ocean; they define the three regions traditionally used to describe the country geographically. The sierra (highlands) is the region of the Andes; it includes the Altiplano plateau as well as the highest peak of the country, Huascarán. The selva (jungle), is a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest that extends east.
  • The endorheic basin of Lake Titicaca and the Amazon basin in this region empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
    • Peru contains 4% of the planet's freshwater. The largest lake in Peru, Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia high in the Andes, is also the largest in South America.
  • The combination of tropical latitude, mountain ranges and two ocean currents (Humboldt and El Niño) gives Peru a large diversity of climates. The coastal region has moderate temperatures, low precipitation, and high humidity, except for its warmer, wetter northern reaches.

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https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/peru-closes-machu-picchu-as-anti-government-protests-grow/article66419469.ece