Pachacuti is traditionally credited with commissioning Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel in Peru's Andes, built on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley. Archaeologists generally associate its construction with Pachacuti, the Inca ruler who transformed the kingdom of Cusco into a major imperial state. The site may have functioned as a royal estate, ceremonial centre and retreat.
The complex includes carefully fitted stone buildings, terraces, plazas and water channels. Its builders adapted the settlement to steep terrain and earthquake risk, using techniques such as dry-stone masonry and deep foundations. The site was probably occupied for less than a century before the Spanish conquest disrupted the Inca state.
Machu Picchu was not completely unknown to local people, but it was brought to international attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. It is often called a “lost city,” although that phrase can obscure the area's continuing connection with Indigenous communities. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.