Grace on Pace

Tag - Machu Pichu

Our 10 Favorite Historical Places

Our 10 Favorite Historical Places Around the World

Everyone views splendor in different ways. What one person considers beautiful may be completely different to another.  Our favorite historical places are, in their own right, beautiful.  Consisting of everything from individual monuments and temples to entire religious complexes, they are some of the most stunning places on earth.

Favorite Historical Places #10 – Forbidden City – Beijing, China

The Forbidden City is the best-preserved imperial palace in China, the largest ancient palatial structure in the world, and the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment.  This might explain the hoards of people itching for a peek.

Forbidden City

Favorite Historical Places #9 – Luang Prabang, Laos

According to legend the Buddha smiled when he rested in Luang Prabang for a day during his travels, prophesying that it would one day be the location of a rich and powerful city.  The spectacle of the ancient temples is apparent at first glance; the unassuming nature of the locals, given the chance, will also leave a lasting impression.

Luang Prabang

Favorite Historical Places #8 – Copán Ruins, Honduras

The Maya site of Copán is one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization.  The lengthy inscription on the Hieroglyphic Stairway, the longest inscribed text in the Maya region, allowed archeologists to crack the ancient language.  The town of Copán, adjacent to the ruins, is a beautiful place paved with cobblestones and lined with white adobe buildings with red-tiled roofs.  Go for the ruins and stay for the town.

Copan Ruins, Honduras

Favorite Historical Places #7 – Hagia Sophia – Istanbul, Turkey

The Hagia Sophia is an architectural beauty and an important monument for both Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires. Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum at the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia has always been a jewel of its time.

Hagia Sophia - Istanbul, Turkey

Favorite Historical Places #6 – Acropolis – Athens, Greece

The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments are universal symbols that form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bestowed by the ancient Greeks to the world.

Acropolis - Athens, Greece

Favorite Historical Places #5 – Banaue Rice Terraces, Philippines

Carved out of the hillside by Ifugao tribes people 3000 years ago to provide level steps where the natives plant rice, the Banaue Rice Terraces stretch like stepping stones to the sky, with some reaching an altitude of 5000ft).  It is considered one of mankind’s greatest engineering feats.

Banaue Rice Terraces

Favorite Historical Places #4 – Bagan, Myanmar

Tucked away in central Myanmar and home to more than 2,000 temples, Bagan’s beauty and historical significance is unsurpassed.  On the banks of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River, the site home to the largest and densest concentration of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world, many dating from the 11th and 12th centuries.

Bagan, Myanmar

Favorite Historical Places #3 – Angkor Wat – Siem Reap, Cambodia

In 1860, missionaries came across the ruins in the Cambodian jungle and discovered a lost city twice as large as Manhattan.  Angkor Wat is actually just one of more than a dozen magnificent temples in the vast metropolis of Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries.  The temple complex is the largest religious monument in the world and absolutely incredible.

Angkor Wat

Favorite Historical Places #2 – Machu Picchu, Peru

An extraordinarily beautiful setting, it’s no wonder Machu Picchu is Peru’s most-visited site.  Dating to the mid-1400s, it’s a marvel of mortar-free limestone architecture perched on a high plateau in the middle of a tropical mountain forest.  Its giant walls, terraces and ramps cut into rock cliffs are the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire.

Machu Picchu

Favorite Historical Places #1 – Great Wall, China

To this day, the Great Wall continues to be the world’s largest military structure.  It is also, the greatest tourist attraction in the World and the goal of millions.  It will not disappoint.

The Great Wall of China


Our 10 Favorite Historical Places

Andean Itinerary – Peru, Ecuador, & Colombia

Andean Itinerary


Andean High

Andean Itinerary

World Wonder, Beaches, Salsa, Hot Springs, and Zona Cafetera

Three Weeks (January 23rd – February 8th, 2009)

We began our Andean Itinerary with an international flight to Lima and then an immediate domestic flight to Cusco early the next morning.  From the airport, we headed straight to the train station bound for Ollantaytambo. In the morning, we made our way to mystical Machu Picchu for the day before returning to Cusco for the evening. An overnight bus through the Andes landed us in Lima and the Miraflores district for nightfall. In the afternoon, we boarded another overnight bus north to the small fishing town of Mancora for white sand and great surf.

Andean Itinerary

Our next leg took us to Ecuador and the colonial Cuenca for some fabulous food and people watching in the flower filled town square. We then had a quick stopover to soothe our aching bones in the hot springs of Baños, before we made our way to historic Quito.

Andean Itinerary

A third overnight bus brought us to Colombia to Cali for salsa lessons before finishing Andean itinerary in Bogotá, taking in the old historic center and lively nightlife.

Andean Itinerary

Budget = $1,450 / Person (Traveling with Three People)
Flight - JFK to Lima, Lima to Cusco, & Bogota to JFK$1400
Bus, Train, Taxi$1400
Lodging - Hostels, Hotels$1400
Food$1400
Activities - Entrance Fees, Moto Rental, Zoo, Museums, Bars, etc.$2700
Don’t Forget
  • Warm Clothes
  • Ciprofloxacin