Machu Picchu in southern Peru is believed to be an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). It is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911.
Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.
Found, not by the Spanish in the 16th Century, but by:
- Glenmorren
- Phil Ower
- hhgygy
- Lighthouse
- Eloy Cano
- Garfield
- MEHMET Durmus
- Lelie
- Jeather
- Rob de Wolff
- Jesus Rodriguez
- joe9000
- Luís Filipe Miguel
- donaaronio
- RicardPG
- Tuxedo Jones
After the hint:
- Ben S
- Ashwini Agrawal
- Chris Nason
- Declan Moore
- LawnBoy
- Robin
- Skip