03Cities and regions
Cusco region
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel set on a narrow saddle between two peaks at 2,430 metres, high above the gorge of the Urubamba River and about 80 kilometres northwest of Cusco. It was probably built around 1450, most likely as an estate for the emperor Pachacuti, and was abandoned roughly a century later. Its walls are dry stone, cut so precisely that no mortar was needed, and farming terraces covering about 4.9 hectares surround them. The American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to world attention in 1911; it joined the World Heritage List in 1983, and more than 1.5 million people now visit each year. Most arrive by train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to the town of Aguas Calientes, then ride a bus 8.6 kilometres up to the gate. Tickets are limited, so book well ahead, and pack a light rain jacket: the area gets around 2,000 millimetres of rain a year.
- 0 m
- Altitude
- c. 1450
- Built around
- 1983
- World Heritage
- Over 1.5 million
- Visitors a year
Highlights
- Intihuatana stoneA carved rock on a terraced hill, aligned with the sun at the winter solstice.
- Temple of the Three WindowsA hall on the Sacred Plaza whose wall opens through three trapezoidal windows onto the valley.
- Aguas CalientesThe riverside town at the foot of the mountain, with the train station, hotels and buses up to the gate.