Machu Picchu is located in Peru.
The fifteenth-century Inca citadel sits high in the Andes above the Urubamba River valley, in Peru’s Cusco Region. Its stone terraces, plazas, temples, and residential areas occupy a mountain ridge roughly 2,430 metres above sea level. The site was built during the reign of the Inca ruler Pachacuti.
Machu Picchu was not destroyed by the Spanish conquest and was largely unknown outside the immediate region until Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911. Local residents already knew of the ruins, so the idea that Bingham “discovered” a completely unknown city is misleading.
UNESCO added the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu to its World Heritage List in 1983. The site is often confused with Cusco, the former Inca imperial capital; Cusco is the gateway city, while Machu Picchu lies farther northwest.