The Inca built Machu Picchu in present-day Peru.
Machu Picchu is a fifteenth-century Inca site high in the Andes above the Urubamba Valley. Most archaeologists associate its construction with the reign of Pachacuti, the Inca ruler who transformed the kingdom of Cusco into a major Andean empire. The site probably served as a royal estate and ceremonial centre rather than as a typical city.
Its builders fitted finely cut stone blocks together without mortar, a technique that helped walls withstand frequent earthquakes in the region. Terraces supported agriculture and reduced erosion, while channels carried spring water through the settlement. Important structures include the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana stone, and the Room of the Three Windows.
Machu Picchu was abandoned during the Spanish conquest era, although nearby populations knew of it. American historian Hiram Bingham publicized it internationally in 1911, but he did not discover an unknown place in an absolute sense. Peru declared it a historic sanctuary in 1981, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1983.