Machu Picchu is a 15th century Inca site located in Peru on a mountain ridge above the Sacred Valley. It is believed to have been built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is an iconic symbol of Inca civilization. It uses polished dry-stone walls cut precisely without mortar in the classical Inca architectural style. The site and its cloud forest habitat are now protected as a national park.

1. MACHU PICCHU
MACHU PIKCHU IS A 15TH-CENTURY INCA
SITE LOCATED 2,430 METRES (7,970 FT)
ABOVE SEA LEVEL. IT IS LOCATED IN THE
CUSCO REGION, URUBAMBA PROVINCE,
MACHUPICCHU DISTRICT IN PERU. IT IS
SITUATED ON A MOUNTAIN RIDGE ABOVE
THE SACRED VALLEY WHICH IS 80
KILOMETRES (50 MI) NORTHWEST OF
CUSCO AND THROUGH WHICH THE
URUBAMBA RIVER FLOWS. MOST
ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT MACHU
PICCHU WAS BUILT AS AN ESTATE FOR
THE INCA EMPEROR PACHACUTI (1438–
1472). OFTEN MISTAKENLY REFERRED TO
AS THE "LOST CITY OF THE INCAS", IT IS
PERHAPS THE MOST FAMILIAR ICON OF
INCA CIVILIZATION.

2. CLIMATE
It's tropical, warm and sunny days and cool nights. It's very rainy between
December and March, but it's still wonderful. Bring a rain-jacket or
umbrella, and you will be fine.

3. LANDSCAPES
Machu Picchu is 1,000 meters (3,300
ft.) lower than Cusco city, that's why
the environment here is different.
The cloud-forest that covers the
steep mountains around the citadel
is habitat of an interesting wildlife
that includes the Andean bear and
the cock-of the rock bird. The ruins
and the surroundings are part of a
national park to protect the
archaeological remains and the
environment.

4. GEOGRAPHY
Machu Picchu lies in the southern
hemisphere, 13.164 degrees south of
the equator.It is 80 kilometres (50
miles) northwest of Cusco, on the crest
of the mountain Machu Picchu, located
about 2,430 metres (7,970 feet) above
mean sea level, over 1,000 metres
(3,300 ft) lower than Cusco, which has
an elevation of 3,600 metres (11,800
ft). As such, it had a milder climate than
the Inca capital. It is one of the most
important archaeological sites in South
America, one of the most visited tourist
attractions in all of Latin America and
the most visited tourist attraction in
Peru.

5. CONSTRUCTION
The central buildings of Machu Picchu
use the classical Inca architectural
style of polished dry-stone walls of
regular shape. The Incas were masters
of this technique, called ashlar, in
which blocks of stone are cut to fit
together tightly without mortar. Many
junctions in the central city are so
perfect that it is said not even a blade
of grass fits between the stones.

6. THREATS
The 'Santa Teresa II' hydropower project proposes diverting 105 cubic metres
(3,700 cubic feet) of water from the Vilcanota river through a 14 km (9 mi)
tunnel that will run underneath organic coffee and fruit plantations.This
process will drain the plantations above the tunnel and disrupt the warm water
flows to the famous thermal baths in Cocalmayo as the tunnel runs through the
two folds that feeds the waters to the thermal baths.