A professional photographer has taken a super high-definition photo of Machu Picchu, an Inca citadel located 2,430 meters above sea level in Peru.
The image of the Inca citadel was taken at 15.9 gigapixels using a Canon 7D with a 400mm lens by Jeff Cremer, the photo director of Rainforest Expeditions, a tour operator specialized in Peru.
The interactive photo, which gathers together 1,920 separate images, offers a high-detailed view of the Incan city. The photo can be viewed at gigapixelperu.com.
With his picture, Cremer's aim is to raise awareness to help the citadel's preservation as well as to offer a high-detailed view of the site to armchair travelers.
Machu Picchu, one of the seven man-made wonders of the world is one of the most iconic symbols of the Inca civilization and a popular destination among tourists. Located 510 kilometers (316 miles) south of Lima (Peru's capital) and with a maximum of 2,500 visits allowed a day, visiting Machu Picchu is not an easy task.
The national daily Peruvian Times calculates that over one million tourists visted Machu Picchu in 2011, representing an increase of 30 percent over 2010. In previous years archeologist have expressed their concerns about the impact of massive influx of tourists into the site. In 2008, the UN said the site had "urgent problems with deforestation, the risk of landslides, uncontrolled urban development and illegal access to the sanctuary."
See the image: gigapixelperu.com
