 Discovered 100

years ago by American

archaeologist Hiram
Bingham, Machu
Picchu, was one of the
most beautiful sacred
place built by the Incas
on the top of the
mountains. Today,
Machu Picchu, is one of
the most attractive
destinations for the
tourists.
 “The Lost City” was built in
the north part of Vilcabamba
mountain chain, over the canyon
formed by the Urubamba river.
Along of the river was built a lot of
religious complexes. After the
Spanish conquest, Incas’ religious,
military and politically complexes
were destroyed. It isn’t known the
reason of not destroying Machu
Picchu by the Spanish conquerors
and the reason because the
inhabitants left that city. It was
found a lot of centuries later, in
1911, hidden by a rich vegetation.
 The glow of the Incas took less than a century, until
1572. In this time they built a wide empire, conquering a
huge area. They reached a high level of civilization.
Probably, the most of the inhabitants died because of the
diseases brought by Spanish.
 The archaeologists think that the Andean city,
suspended at 2 430 m, was built for the Inca king Pachacuti
(1438-1472), but was abandoned suddenly by the
inhabitants, one century later after the Spanish conquest.
“The Lost City of Inca” is, probably, the most known Inca
site.
 Although it was known by
the natives, the city remained
hidden for strangers until 1911,
when was discovered by the
American historian, Hiram
Bingham, who was searching the
Vilcabamba city, the latest Inca
refuge in the time of Spanish
conquest. He was led to this place
by a native child who was 11.
 After discovering Machu
Picchu, he started the
archaeological researches which
took place until 1915.
 Returned home, Bingham
wrote a lot of newspaper articles
and books. His first book was
entitled “The lost city of Inca”.
 Since then, Machu Picchu has become an
important tourists attraction. The Spanish people
couldn’t find it, so the city has remained an intact
cultural site.
 In 2007 it was voted one of the seven wonders of
the modern world, in a survey realised on the internet.