Peru contains Machu Picchu, the famous 15th-century Inca citadel in the Andes. The site stands high above the Urubamba Valley in Peru's Cusco Region.
Machu Picchu was built during the reign of the Inca ruler Pachacuti, probably in the mid-1400s. Its carefully fitted stonework, terraces and water-management systems show the engineering skill of the Inca civilisation.
The site was not widely known outside the local region until the 20th century, when American historian Hiram Bingham publicised it internationally in 1911. Local people already knew of the ruins, and Bingham's expedition did not literally discover an unknown city.
Machu Picchu is often called a lost city, but that phrase can mislead. The settlement was abandoned during the Spanish colonial period, yet it was never completely unknown to people living nearby. UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List in 1983, recognising both its cultural and natural importance.