EXPEDITION WEEK STARTS SUNDAY, APRIL 3, AT 9 P.M. ET ON NAT GEO CHANNEL NGM.COM
APRIL 2011
THE GENIUS OF THE
INCA New Discoveries Reveal How They Forged a Mighty Empire
Crimea: A Jewel in Two Crowns 62 The World’s Most Dangerous Volcano 82 The Acid Sea 100 Miracle Above Manhattan 122 Indomitable Snow Frogs 138
Machu Picchu, circa A.D. 1500
Perched high in the Peruvian Andes, the royal retreat of Machu Picchu testifies to the Inca’s masterful building skills with its precision-cut stones and perfectly placed cascades of terraces.
Lofty Amb覺t覺ons
Inca
of the
Rising from obscurity to the heights of power, a succession of Andean rulers subdued kingdoms, sculpted mountains, and forged a mighty empire.
AT MUSEO LEYMEBAMBA, CHACHAPOYAS, PERU
At Lake Titicaca, craft vendors wait for tourists on an island sacred to the Inca. Far left: The small bundle is how the Chachapoya people kept their dead. The conquering Inca were inspired to make a similar bundle for the larger mummy.