Peru contains the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu.
The citadel sits high in the Andes above the Urubamba Valley, at an elevation of roughly 2,430 metres. Most archaeologists date its construction to the fifteenth century, during the reign of the Inca ruler Pachacuti.
Machu Picchu was probably a royal estate or sacred ceremonial centre rather than the ordinary capital of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned during the Spanish conquest, although the Spanish apparently did not discover it. Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911, while local residents already knew of the site. Machu Picchu became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.