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Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

On January 8th of 1981, the Peruvian Government declared Machu Picchu as a Historic Sanctuary by Supreme Decree Nro 021-81-AA, which has 32,592 hectares, the need of protecting the archeological monuments, valuable vestiges of the pre-Hispanic period and its landscaping framework, as well as flora and fauna native species related to the region, it is considered as one wonder of the world and in 1983 Machu Picchu was declared by UNESCO as Cultural Heritage of the Humanity.

The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu keeps inside of it its essence of the beauty of the holiness, which harmonizes with the natural landscape, being an important scientist and cultural place, as an expression of the architectonic development of the Inca culture, in the area the are 33 archeological places connected by the Inca Trail.

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Until now, it's reported for HSM an average of 523 species of chordates that includes 13 species of fish, 12 of amphibious, 22 of reptiles, 423 of birds, 53 of mammals. The sanctuary flora is exuberant; there are approximately 2,354 species of plants, 29 species of funguses, it is estimated that there are approximately 500 species of orchids which flower along the year; these are not the definitive information because there are still some research and investigations to do.

The HSM has a variety of ecosystems and also species of flora and fauna, many of them are endemics, these ecosystems and species that live there are very important in the conservation of the biological variety of Peru and of the world, whether it is the genetic potential or research that it may has. It has 10 life areas, for this reason it has a great variety of flora and fauna, huge trees like Pisonay, Walnut, Intimpa, Quishuar, Cedar and others, the fauna has many animals, we can find the majestic condor and many species of hummingbird; mammals such as: puma, tigrillo and some species of monkeys, the anteojos bear, the mount cat, the otter, the "gallito de las rocas" which is the national bird.

Check the following links in order to view more information about the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu:

  • Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Wikipedia)
  • Machu Picchu - Historic Sanctuary (UNESCO)
  • Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (UNEP - WCMC - UNESCO- WORLD HERITAGE)
  • Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (UNESCO - WORLDHERITAGE)