Machu Picchu is located 2,430 meters above sea level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extremely beautiful setting.

It is perhaps the most amazing creation of the Inca Empire at its height, with an extremely well-preserved structure, despite the seismic zone in which Peru is located.

Its giant walls, terraces, and ramps appear to have been cut naturally into the continuous rock faces. The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna.

Recognized for outstanding cultural and natural values, the mixed World Heritage property covers 32,592 hectares of mountain slopes, peaks, and valleys surrounding its heart

Built-in the fifteenth century, Machu Picchu was abandoned when the Inca Empire was conquered by the Spanish in the sixteenth century.
Only in 1911 did the archaeological complex become known to the outside world.
The approximately 200 structures that make up this extraordinary religious, ceremonial, astronomical, and agricultural center are located on a steep ridge intersected by stone terraces.

Strictly speaking, the city is divided into a lower and an upper part, separating the agricultural from the residential areas, with a large square between the two.

Numerous subsidiary centers, an extensive road system, irrigation canals, and agricultural terraces testify to long, often sustained, human use.

To this day, many of Machu Picchu's mysteries remain unsolved, including the exact role the city may have played in the Incas' sophisticated understanding of astronomy and the domestication of wild plant species.