Machu Picchu

A 15th-century Inca citadel perched on a 7,970-ft ridge above the Urubamba River, built around 1450 under the emperor Pachacuti, abandoned barely a century later during the Spanish conquest, and brought to international attention by Hiram Bingham in 1911. UNESCO World Heritage Site (1983). One of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Your visit

After an optional naturalist morning walk around the Inkaterra grounds and a stop at the on-site tea plantation, you'll take the shuttle bus up the zigzag road for a half-day guided walking tour. A local expert leads you through the citadel — temples, terraces, the intihuatana stone, the Temple of the Sun, the Room of the Three Windows — explaining the astrological design, the masonry, and the story of the site's rediscovery. Bus back to Aguas Calientes, then dinner in town.

Quick facts

• Elevation: ~7,970 ft (2,430 m) — lower than Cusco, much easier on the lungs.
• Built: c. 1450 under Pachacuti.
• Rediscovered: 1911 by Hiram Bingham.
• Architecture: Classic Inca dry-stone masonry — no mortar.
• Climate in August: Dry season. Cool early morning, warm midday, strong UV.

More background: Wikipedia · Backroads trip page