Machu Picchu 2

Historians believe Machu Picchu was built at the height of the Inca Empire, which dominated western South America in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was abandoned around 100 years after its construction, probably around the time the Spanish began their conquest of this civilization in the 1530s. There is no evidence that the Spanish ever attacked or even reached Machu Picchu. Some suggest people left because of a smallpox epidemic.

Many modern-day archaeologists now believe that Machu Picchu was a royal estate for Inca emperors and nobles. Others have a theory that it was a religious site, explaining that it is near to mountains and other geographical features that the Incas thought were sacred.

Machu Picchu sits in the middle of a tropical mountain forest on the eastern side of the Peruvian Andes. The walls, terraces and stairways all fit in perfectly with the natural landscape. The fine stonework, fields and water system show how skilled the Inca’s were in architecture, agriculture and engineering. In fact, the stones are so perfectly cut, they fit together without any kind of mortar.

In the summer of 1911 the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham arrived in Peru with a small team of explorers hoping to find Vilcabamba, the last Inca city Spanish took control over. Traveling on foot and by mule, Bingham and his team made their way from Cuzco into the Urubamba Valley, where a local farmer told them of some ruins located at the top of a nearby mountain. The farmer called the mountain Machu Picchu, which translates to “old peak” in the native Quechua language. On July 24, after a tough climb to the mountain’s ridge in cold and wet weather, Bingham met a small group of peasants who showed him the rest of the way.

The excited Bingham spread the word about his discovery in a best-selling book, “The Lost City of the Incas,” sending crowds of eager tourists to Peru. He also excavated artefacts from Machu Picchu and took them to Yale University for further inspection. This began an argument between the Peru and the USA which lasted for 100 years. Finally, after a lawsuit, President Barack Obama returned the artefacts to Peru. 

Machu Picchu is now a unesco World Heritage Site since 1983 and became one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. Machu Picchu is Peru’s most visited attraction and South America’s most famous ruins, welcoming hundreds of thousands of people a year. The increase in tourism has had some negative effects on the site as well as the environment.  As a result, the Peruvian government has taken steps to protect the ruins and prevent erosion of the mountainside in recent years.