Wackanqui (Masdevallia veitchiana). Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Aguas Caliente, Peru
When we visited Machu Picchu, we stayed at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. The hotel has 372 different native orchid species in their natural habitat, the world record according to the American Orchid Society. Many things are said about orchids. They are extremely diverse, have colorful and fragrant blooms, are the most widespread family of flowering plant, and some have evolved bizarre ways to cross pollinate. There are between 21,950 to 26,049 currently accepted species including Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant). This is more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. The Andean cloud forest is a habitat which is home to a large diversity of orchids. Among the most significant sites from which to appreciate these stunning flowers is undoubtedly the Machu Picchu Natural Reserve, with a wide variety of native species and genus. Some of the most remarkable assembled at Inkaterra Machu Picchu are: the minuscule Lepanthes, Trichosalpinx and Stelis; some of the largest, like Phramipedium caudatum and Sobralia aff. setigera; and the fragrant Anguola virginalis, Lindley Ida locusta and Lycastemacorphylla.