Machu Picchu
 | This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (January 2024) |
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site in Peru, in South America.
| Location |  PeruCusco Region |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 13°09′48″S 72°32′44″W / 13.16333°S 72.54556°WCoordinates: 13°09′48″S 72°32′44″W / 13.16333°S 72.54556°W |
| Height | 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 1450 |
| Abandoned | 1572 |
| Cultures | Inca civilization |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Hiram Bingham |
| Official name | Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu |
| Type | Mixed |
| Criteria | i, iii, vii, ix |
| Designated | 1983 (7th session) |
| Reference no. | 274 |
| State Party | Peru |
| Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
The Incas built the city on a mountain ridge, 2430m above sea level. They lived there between 1200 and 1450 AD. Other people lived there before about 650 AD.
The Incas built houses, fields and temples by cutting the rock on the mountain so it was flat. They built an observatory to look at the stars.
When the Spanish invaded Peru, the Incas left Machu Picchu. Nobody knows for sure why they did that, but some think it was because of diseases from Europe (such as smallpox). The city was left unfinished, most likely due to the Spanish invasion and/or a civil war between the ruling rival Inca brothers named Huascar and Atahualpa. The Spanish never found Machu Picchu or the lost city during their occupation.
Machu Picchu is very difficult to get to because it is so high in the mountains. It has only one way in and a stone wall to protect it. Most people on Earth did not know it was there until a Yale graduate named Hiram Bingham rediscovered it in 1911. He heard rumors of a hidden city which was already known to the native Peruvians, who guided him there. He led a restoration project that was partly funded by the National Geographic Society. Bingham made a deal with the government to take artifacts to the Peabody Museum for study. Peru is still trying to have those artifacts returned to them.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.
Today, there is a new road so that tourists can visit. People can also walk along the Inca Trail, or take a train from Cusco.
Machu Picchu Media
Photo by Hiram Bingham III in 1912 after major clearing and before reconstruction work began[1][2]
View of the ancient houses
Machu Picchu
Discovery plaques located near the entrance of Machu Picchu
Melchor Arteaga crossing the Urubamba River on 24 July 1911
Hiram Bingham III at his tent door near Machu Picchu in 1912
Main Square of Aguas Calientes
Panoramic view of Machu Picchu from Machu Picchu mountain surrounded by the Urubamba River
Map (rough) Machu Picchu, own work composed from various mapreferences
The Room of the Three Windows at Machu Picchu
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=small}
Other websites
- Information About Machu Picchu
- QuickTime Virtual Tour of Machu Picchu and Peru from destination360.com Archived 2021-02-11 at the Wayback Machine.
- Machu Picchu on National Geographic
- Machu Picchu on Google Maps.
- Machu Picchu travel guide.
- Machu Picchu. YouTube
