Machu Picchu in Pictures

A mist-covered Machu Picchu

In 1911 Hiram Bingham III, who some contend served as the inspiration for film hero Indiana Jones, journeyed to the high mountains of Peru to explore the fantastical ruins of Machu Picchu. Today, we traveled to the National Geographic Museum in D. C. to peruse a pictorial documentation of that journey.

Bingham, at the time a Yale University professor in his 30s, made 3 trips between 1911 and 1915 to clear the area and map and photograph the site, which is considered one of the world's great archeological wonders. In 1913,  National Geographic magazine devoted an entire issue to black and white pictures of the Incan marvel. At the time, Bingham brought thousands of articles from the site, an act which caused great controversy as Yale University refused to return the findings to Peru for almost 100 years.

The exhibit was especially meaningful for us since we plan to explore Machu Picchu as a cornerstone of a South American excursion next February.  We will be visiting Rio de Janeiro before cruising around Cape Horn to Santiago, Chile and then flying to Peru..  

Travelers' Tip:
Of course, the museum has a gift shop filled with every National Geographic item imaginable.  It is worth a visit if just to look at the roomful of colorful images.