Machu Picchu is an Inca citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, near Cuzco. It is located over 8,000 feet above sea level and was built in the 15th century, but abandoned a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. The ruins were rediscovered in 1911 by American historian Hiram Bingham. Today it is one of Peru's most popular tourist attractions, though visiting requires strenuous hiking at high altitude and tourism has caused environmental impacts to the surrounding area.

1. Machu Picchu By Chris Commins

2. Machu Picchu is located in Peru North of Lima (the capital of Peru. The nearest large town is Cuzco. Peru is roughly 6,000 miles away from London that's approximately 9 hours in an aeroplane.

3. What is Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a mountain peak joined to the Andes. Machu Picchu is the ruins left behind by the Inca’s possibly hundreds or thousands of years ago.The Inca trail is used constantly by tourists wanting to see the ruins and views shown at Macchu Picchu.

4. Macchu Picchu was left behind by the Incas for an unknown reason. The Incas built high up in the mountains to defend them selves from the Spanish. The remains of their buildings where only found in 1911 by an explorer called Hiram Bingam. Macchu means “beauty” in Peruvian. The buildings that remain have all survived earthquakes that occur regularly. The building were built at angles to cope with the strength of the earthquakes.

5. Advantages and disadvantages of the siteAdvantages The site provided safety towards the people that lived their. Disadvantages Hard to get food supplies up and water. Dangerous during an earthquake and freezing cold for living their.

6. Why the Incas deserted Machu Picchu? There are many reasons why the Incas left Machu but I think they left because they knew without food and water they would die or be living painfully so they decided that they stood more chance of surviving around Peru that they did in the cover of Machu Picchu.

7. Machu Picchu is a popular tourist site in an Extreme location To get to the lost village of Machu Picchu you must cope with the extreme conditions that lie ahead. Altitude sickness causes many hikers to turn back. Machu Picchu has severe weather conditions from freezing cold temperatures at night to boiling hot temperatures during the day. The climb up Machu Picchu can also be not only a physical struggle but emotional as well.

8. The impacts of tourism on Machu Picchu The local people who live in the ever growing Village of Urubamba benefit from Machu Picchu in many ways. Many of the local men living in the area become Sherpa's(tour Guides) for tourists climbing Machu Picchu. As many tourists come to climb Machu they stay at Urubamba before or after the climb this lets them see the culture and life styles of the local Peruvians. But as more and more tourists come each year the land around Machu Picchu gets worn away and eroded. Many trees around Machu Picchu have been cut down to use for fuel for cooking and heating. Obviously the Amazon rainforest is linked into parts of the Machu Picchu area. Jobs for the local people have been created because of ever growing numbers of tourists flooding into the area.