There is a rawness to South America’s landscape that surprises North Americans like myself who are accustomed to rolling hills and grassy prairies .
In comparison, South America feels otherworldly, and Machu Picchu is perhaps the most extreme case. It is as if it is impossible to completely tame these mountains; but in return you experience something harder to catch. Machu Picchu is a land for people who know they cannot overcome nature, but want to try nonetheless.
After all, that is what the Incans were attempting hundreds of years ago, and it is what we continue to try at today .