Verified13.1631° S · 72.5450° W · 2430 m
Machu Picchu
Machu Pikchu · Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu
Late Horizon (Inca Imperial, ~1450–1530 CE)·Inca (Quechua)·🇵🇪 Cusco Region, Peru
Martin St-Amant / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
About
About Machu Picchu
15th-century Inca citadel perched at 2,430 m on a narrow saddle between Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu peaks above the Urubamba Valley. Dry-stone ashlar city of temples, terraces and ritual spaces abandoned after Spanish conquest and rediscovered in 1911.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Purpose as royal retreat vs sacred center still debated
- 02How ashlar stones were quarried and transported without wheels or draft animals
Theories
- 01Astronomical alignment of Intihuatana stone
- 02Hideaway for Inca elite during Spanish conquest
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1450–1460 under Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
- Period
- Late Horizon (Inca Imperial, ~1450–1530 CE)
- Culture
- Inca (Quechua)
- Purpose
- Royal estate / religious and administrative center and control point over Sacred Valley
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1450–1460 under Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
Initial construction
c. 1613 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
13.1631° S · 72.5450° W · 2430 m · 3 mapped features
- 13.1633° S · 72.5452° W
Temple of the Sun (Torreón)
temple - 13.1639° S · 72.5454° W
Intihuatana Stone
astronomical megalith - 13.1636° S · 72.5451° W
Room of the Three Windows
structure
Gallery