Machu Picchu is a 15th century Inca City located in the Cusco Region of the larger Urubamba Province of Peru. The city sits on the end of a mountain ridge, overlooking the Sacred Valley, about 2430 meters above the sea level. How the Inca people were able to get the materials for construction on such a high ground without modern equipment is anyone's guess.

Archaeologists reckon that the estate was built for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Today, it remains the most significant symbol of the Inca Empire. The construction was completed at about 1450. Unfortunately, it was abandoned a century later after the Spanish conquistadors came calling.

Machu Picchu is one of the most popular attractions in South America. It attracts visitors in their large numbers. This prompted the inscription into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1983. The city has also been voted among the 7 modern wonders of the world in an internet poll.

The site comprises of 3 main buildings namely; The Temple of the Sun, The Room of the Three Windows and the Inti Watana. According to archaeologists, the temple was dedicated to the Virgins of the Sun. These were women whose life was dedicated to the Sun God of the Inca. Other historians reckon that the city was a royal retreat.

Whoever is right about the city, one truth holds; that you will be missing a lot if you never find time to visit this grand ancient city. You will never know the genius of the Incan Empire until you see what their masons were capable of producing.