Machu Picchu Maps show references to Machu Picchu as early as 1874. In 1911 American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham travelled the region looking for the old Inca capital and was led to Machu Picchu by a villager, Melchor Arteaga. Bingham found the name Agustín Lizárraga and the date 1902 written in charcoal on one of the walls. Though Bingham was not the first to visit the ruins, he was considered the scientific discoverer who brought Machu Picchu to international attention. Bingham organized another expedition in 1912 to undertake major clearing and excavation. In 1981, Peru declared an area of surrounding Machu
Hiram Bingham III center but a royal estate to which Inca leaders and their entourage repaired during the Andean summer. Machu Picchu has become one of the major tourist attractions in South America, and Bingham is recognized as the man who brought the site to world attention, although many others helped to bring this site into the public eye. The switchback-filled road that carries tourist buses to the site from the Urubamba River is called the Hiram Bingham Highway. Bingham has been cited as one possible basis for the Indiana Jones character. His book "Lost City of the Incas" became a bestseller upon