Ancient city of Machu Picchu in south-central Peru

The mysterious Inca city and ceremonial center of Machu Picchu lies high in the Peruvian Andes, fifty miles northwest of Cuzco, capital of the Inca Empire.

The name Machu Picchu means “old peak” in Quechua, the language of Inca. The dwellings at the site were probably built and occupied from the mid-1400s to the early or mid-1500s.

The city of Machu Picchu was surrounded by high mountain peaks and rushing waters. It was divided into large sectors – the urban sector and the agricultural sector.

Research suggests that Machu Picchu may have transformed over the period of its occupation from a defensive outpost near a frontier, in the early years of its founding, to serve in its heyday as the showpiece of a ruler’s royal estate.

The ruins are substantial an extensive, including houses, a temple plaza and granaries. There are 140 structures in Machu Picchu, most built of polished dry-stone walls which are more earthquake resistant.

Machu Picchu remained hidden from the Spanish when they conquered the Inca in the 1500s. The world learned of Machu Picchu when a local farmer led a US archeologist, Hiram Bingham III to the ruin in 1911.
Ancient city of Machu Picchu in south-central Peru