Ruined Inca city in the Peruvian Andes, northwest of Cuzco. This settlement and stronghold stands at the top of 300-m/1,000-ft-high cliffs above the Urabamba River and covers an area of 13 sq km/5 sq mi. Built in about
AD 1500, the city's remote location saved it from being found and destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, and the remains of its houses and temples are well preserved. Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 by the US archaeologist Hiram L Bingham.
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