Fantasy: Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu was an ancient Andean community built high in the mountains. It was built by the Inca in the 15th century and the citadel in the clouds made them virtually uninvadable.
Incredibly, Machu Pichu was not known to the larger global community until an American historian publicized it in 1911. This is due in part to the Inca abandoning the settlement around 1450 during the Spanish conquest.
Reality: Machu Picchu
It can take up to six days to hike to the ancient ruins! Six days! The climb is so difficult that the Peruvian government is frequently be called into to deal with injured hikers and hikers with altitude sickness. What’s worse is when you get there it may be so cloudy up in the mountains you can’t even see anything!
Of course, humans have done their worst to the ancient landmark as the site is now dealing with littering issues. It’s not like the trash man is making regular Wednesday morning stops up there.
