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It is thought the city was built by the Inca emperor Pachacuti starting in about 1440 and was inhabited until the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. Archeological evidence (together with recent work on early colonial documents) shows that it was not a conventional city; rather it was a sort of country retreat town for the Inca Emperor and nobility. The site has a large palace and temples around a courtyard, with other dwellings for the support staff. It is estimated that a maximum of only about 750 people resided in Machu Picchu at any one time, and probably only a small fraction of that number during the rainy season and when no nobles were visiting.

It is thought that the site was chosen for its unique location and geological features. Some believe that Machu Picchu sits upon one of the outpouring fonts of Earth energy with the Temple of the Moon at its center. It is said that the silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu represents the face of the Inca looking upward towards the sky, with the largest peak, Waynapicchu, representing his nose. The Incas believed that the solid rock of the Earth should not be cut and so built this city from rock quarried from loose boulders found in the area. Some of the stone architecture uses no mortar, but rather relied on extremely precise cutting of blocks that results in walls with cracks between stones through which a credit card will not pass.

The city was re-discovered on July 24, 1911, by a Yale historian, Hiram Bingham, who was exploring old Inca roads in the area. Bingham made several more trips and conducted excavations on the site through 1915. He wrote a number of books and articles about Machu Picchu; his popular account Lost City of the Incas became a best-seller.

In 1913 the site received a significant amount of publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.

The site is a UNESCO World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage program administered by UNESCO. The program aims to catalogue, name, and a popular touristTourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. A tourist is someone who travels at least fifty miles from home, as defined by the World Tourism Organization (a United Nations body). attraction. In 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U, some 400,000 people visited Machu Picchu, and UNESCO has expressed concern about the damage this volume of tourism is causing to the site. Peruvian authorities insist that there is no problem, and that the remoteness of the site will impose natural limits on tourism [1]. Periodically, proposals are made to install a cable carAn aerial tramway is a type of aerial lift, sometimes called a cable car and frequently incorrectly referred to as a gondola . An aerial tramway consists of two or more loops of cable, and two passenger cabins. One of the cables is always fixed, and provi to the site, but such proposals have so far always been rejected. [2]

One of the Chilean poet Pablo NerudaPablo Neruda ( July 12, 1904 September 23, 1973), Chilean poet, considered one of the most important Latin American literary figures of the 20th century. His real name was Neftali Reyes Basoalto (in full, Ricardo Eliecer Neftali Reyes Basoalto . He used t's best-known works is "The Heights of Macchu Picchu", inspired by the city.