Machu Picchu

While Spanish conquistadors were busy dismantling much of the Inca Empire, one of its most remarkable sites sat undiscovered on a remote Andean ridge, quietly avoiding the fate of nearly every other Inca city.

Built for an Emperor

Constructed around 1450 CE at an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet, Machu Picchu is thought to have served as a royal retreat and religious site rather than a conventional city, reflecting the Inca practice of building estates for rulers that would continue to be maintained even after their deaths. Its remote, dramatic setting atop a ridge between two mountain peaks was likely chosen for both defensive and spiritual significance.

Abandonment

The site was abandoned roughly a century after its construction, likely around the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the 1530s — though remarkably, historical evidence suggests the Spanish never actually discovered Machu Picchu themselves, unlike many other Inca sites that were looted and destroyed.

Rediscovery

Machu Picchu remained largely unknown to the outside world for centuries, though local Quechua farming families were aware of its existence. American historian Hiram Bingham brought the site to international attention in 1911 while searching for a different lost Inca city, and his accounts sparked worldwide fascination with the ruins.

Engineering Without Mortar

The site's remarkable dry-stone construction — in which massive stone blocks are cut and fitted together so precisely that no mortar is needed — has allowed its structures to withstand centuries of earthquakes in this seismically active region. Machu Picchu was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, and remains Peru's most visited archaeological site.