Machu Picchu: The Ancient Inca Civilization

One of Peru’s most renowned cultural landmarks is Machu Picchu. Burrowed between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon basin lies the cultural ruins of the ancient Inca civilization. Lost for centuries, the ruins are a great example of fine Inca stonework. Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by an American explorer named Hiram Bingham. He spent weeks pouring his blood, sweat, and tears searching the jungles in Peru for any indication of this land. He looked high and low for “ghosts” of the ancient Inca city; all he wanted was to find “a glimpse of pale stone through the trees” and he was not disappointed. There he found the intihuatana, El Torreon, a set of three-sided temples, and many more structures that held him spellbound.
The Inca civilization