Machu Picchu Machu Picchu Machu Picchu ( or ; ; ) is a 15th-century Inca citadel, located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, on a mountain ridge above sea level. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru, above the Sacred Valley, which is northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows, which cuts through the Cordillera and originates a canyon with tropical mountain climate. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" (a
Machu Picchu accompany a deceased noble in the afterlife. Animal, liquid and dirt sacrifices to the gods were much more common, made at the Altar of the Condor. The tradition is upheld by members of the New Age Andean religion. Machu Picchu lies in the southern hemisphere, 13.164 degrees south of the equator. It is northwest of Cusco, on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu, located about above mean sea level, over lower than Cusco, which has an elevation of . As such, it had a milder climate than the Inca capital. It is one of the most important archaeological sites