Introduction Historical context The natural setting About the disoccupation when discovered Description of Machu Picchu The agricultural sector The hanan section The main plaza and the urin section Wayna Picchu and the temple of the moon Reconstructing the past The productive activities Description of Machu Picchu The agricultural sector ---------Select----------The southeast colcas------------------------The terraces (patapata) The Machu Picchu citadel is surrounded by agricultural terraces, some showier than others, so that the aggressive and unequal slope of the mountain is transformed into a stepped surface which covers the irregularities of the hillsides with completely flat terraces. As these follow the level curves, their contours serve, moreover, to redraw with firm lines the profiles of the mountain. Therefore, the natural surroundings, which are covered with a dense arboreal layer which is in itself fascinating, are transformed into a spectacle that harmoniously combines the irregularity of the unevennesses and the free distribution of the colors and forms of the forest with the architecture of the volumes and spaces created by the human will. Without a doubt, Pachakutec enjoyed the pleasure of recreating this landscape which holds his memory for all eternity. More than a simple agricultural space, the construction of the farming sector was a work which subordinated the alimentary function to the demands of aesthetic values. If to that is added that, along with the maize or coca - which the Incas surely sowed in those terraces - they also grew orchids and plants producing other colors and aromas, the agricultural terraces were much more than just that. According to sixteenth century documents these lands of the Urubamba were under the care of persons whose job was to produce the goods which sustained the cult of the dead Inca, who were for the most part the mamacunas, that is, women ascribed to state service functions.