What is the name of the civilization credited with building Machu Picchu?

High in the Andes above Cuzco, Peru is the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu believed to have been a royal cathedral or a sacred religious site of the Inca Indians. In the 16th century Spanish invaders nearly wiped out the Incan civilization and they might have completely vanished from history had it not been for an explorer in the early 20th century. In 1911 American archaeologist and Yale professor Hiram Bingham stumbled across the ruins high in the Andes. Only the local peasants knew of its existence for more than 400 years.

The site spans over 5 miles and still contains ruins of cut stone fit together without mortar so tightly that its cracks still can’t be penetrated by a knife blade. When Machu Picchu was built some 500 years ago the Inca had no iron, no steel, and no wheels. Landscape engineering skills are in strong evidence at Machu Picchu. The site’s buildings, walls, terraces, and ramps reclaim the steep mountainous terrain and make the city blend naturally into the rock escarpments on which it is situated. The 700-plus terraces preserved soil, promoted agriculture, and served as part of an extensive water-distribution system that conserved water and limited erosion on the steep slopes.The ruins lie on a high ridge, surrounded on three sides by the windy, turbulent Urubamba River some 2,000 feet below.

Today, Machu Picchu was listed on the World Heritage Sites in 1983. Thousands of people each year visit the site and find it to be breathtakingly beautiful.