High angle view of ruins on mountains, Machu Picchu, Cusco Region, Peru
Aerial view of view of the Inca site, Machu Picchu (Macchupicchu) with Huayna Picchu in the background, Cusco Region, Peru. Located on a high ridge between two sharp peaks, Machu Picchu (Old Peak) and Huayna Picchu (New Peak) and overlooking the Urubamba river valley. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas” (a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba), 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.