Machu Picchu is the Peruvian landmark that served as a 15th-century Inca citadel high in the Andes near Cusco.
The site stands at roughly 2,430 metres above sea level on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley. Its finely fitted stone buildings, terraces, stairways, and water channels demonstrate sophisticated Inca engineering in difficult terrain.
Most archaeologists believe Machu Picchu was constructed during the reign of Pachacuti, the Inca ruler who greatly expanded the empire. The settlement was probably connected to royal, religious, and ceremonial activities rather than functioning as a typical city.
Spanish colonial records do not appear to mention the site, and it remained largely unknown internationally until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to wider attention in 1911. Local people already knew of the ruins, so the idea that Bingham literally discovered it is an oversimplification.