Residing as Peru's greatest archaeological treasure, Machu Picchu is an Inca Citadel located at a nearly 8,000 foot ridge of the Cordillera Oriental (Spanish for eastern mountain range) and the eastern part of the Andes. Often called "Lost City of the Incas", rising above the Sacred Valley northwest of Cusco, the site wasn't discovered until 1911 by Hiram Bingham III (Yale University history lecturer) and made known to the outside world.

Built in the classical Inca-style of polished dry-stone building technique, constructed without the use of mortar, Machu Picchu is estimated to have been built and occupied around 1420-1530 AD. Also it is estimated that about 750 people lived there, mostly serving as support staff for the two great Inca rulers, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438–1471) and Túpac Inca Yupanqui (1472–1493). Unfortunately, since the Incas had no written language, there are no records of the names of buildings or their use.

In 1983, UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site.