Machu Picchu ("Old Mountain" in Quechua language, often also called "the lost Inca City") is a site of pre-Columbian Inca ruins located in the mountainous region at an altitude of about 2350 m. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km northwest of Cusco.
This site was forgotten by the international community, but not by the local community. This site re-discovered by archaeologists from the university YaleHiram Bingham III rediscovered in 1911. Peru then do the legal efforts to retrieve artifacts taken by Bingham from the site. Since then, Machu Picchu became a tourist attraction that attracts local and foreign tourists.
The site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, Machu Picchu is also one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, is also receiving attention due to damage caused by tourism (the number of visitors reached 400,000 in 2003).
Machu Picchu was built by the ancient Incan style with walls of polished stone. The main building is Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and Three Window Room. These places are referred to as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu.
