Machu Picchu (Quechua: Old Mountain; sometimes called the “Lost City of the Incas”) is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located on a high mountain ridge. Elevation measurements vary depending on whether the data refers to the ruin or the extremity of the mountain, Machu Picchu tourist information reports the elevation as 2,350 m (7,710 ft). Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by Yale archeologist Hiram Bingham who rediscovered it in 1911, and wrote a best-selling work about it. Peru is pursuing legal efforts to get back thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site. The site is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Since 1983 the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been the subject of concern about damage caused by tourism.
 It is thought that the city was built by the Sapa Inca Pachacuti, starting in about 1440, and was inhabited until the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. Archeological evidence (together with recent work on early colonial documents) shows that Machu Picchu was not a conventional city, but a country retreat town for Inca nobility (similar to the Roman villas). The site has a large palace and temples to Inca deities around a courtyard, with other buildings for support staff. It is estimated that a maximum of only about 750 people resided in Machu Picchu at any one time, and probably only a small fraction of that number lived in the town during the rainy season and when none of the nobility were visiting. It is thought that the site was chosen for its unique location and geological features. It is said that the silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu represents the face of the Inca looking upward towards the sky, with the largest peak, Huayna Picchu (meaning Young Mountain) representing his nose. The peak is also known as the “hitching post of the sun.”
 In 1913, the site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu. One of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s best-known works is “The Heights of Machu Picchu”, inspired by the city:
 “Machu Picchu es un viaje a la serenidad del alma, a la eterna fusión con el cosmos, allí sentimos nuestra fragilidad. Es una de las maravillas más grandes de Sudamérica. Un reposar de mariposas en el epicentro del gran círculo de la vida. Otro milagro más.” When translated it means. “Machu Picchu is a trip to the serenity of the soul, to eternal fusion with the cosmos, there we feel our own fragility. It is one of the greatest marvels of South America. A resting place of butterflies at the epicenter of the great circle of life. Another miracle.”
 It is one of the most important archaeological centers in South America and as a consequence the most visited tourist attraction in Peru. From the top, at the cliff of Machu Picchu, one can appreciate the vertical precipice of 600 meters ending at the foot of the Urubamba River. The location of the city was a military secret because its deep precipices and mountains were an excellent natural defense. The firmest theories maintain that it was an Incan “llacta”: a settlement build up to control the economy of the conquered regions. It was the most beautiful llacta of the Incan empire, and would have been built with the specific purpose of protecting the most select of the Incan aristocracy in the event of an attack. It seems it was used in a particular moment as Zapa Inca’s “resting place” and also as an “observatory”. After the Spanish conquest, it was the stronghold of Manco Inca’s revolt.

Tags: Machu Picchu, Peru, South America

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