Machu Picchu

     Also called “The Lost City of the Incas”, Machu Picchu is a historical site located on a mountain above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Built at an altitude of 7,970 ft (2,430 meters) is considered one of the most significant cultural site because it was never discovered by Spanish conquistadors, so it remained almost intact.




      According to archaeologists, the settlement was built around 1450, during the reign of Inca emperor Pachacuti and even though there are theories claiming it was built as a prison or as an agricultural testing station, most probably it was designed to be a religious site. Founded at the height of the Inca Empire, Machu Pichu was abandoned in 1572, during the Spanish Conquest, the cause being unknown, most probably from diseases introduced by foreign travelers before the conquistadors arrival. The city was discovered in 1911 by Hiram     Bingham who was searching for another Inca settlement, Vilcabamba and was led to Machu Pichu by a local boy. In 1981 Peru declared the area a “Historical Sanctuary” and in 1983 the site was included on the World Heritage Site list by UNESCO.

     How to get to Machu Picchu: The closest largest city is Cuzco (a World Heritage Site also) and from there you can take one-day trips to Machu Picchu. You’ll have to make a stop in Aguas Calientes from where you can take the bus (round trip for $16) or go on a multiple-day hiking trip on the famous Inca Trail which ends in Machu Picchu