Perched upon a mountaintop at 7,970 ft. above sea level and hidden for centuries from plain sight amid misty forested peaks, Peru's fabled "lost city of the Incas", Machu Picchu, is one of South America's top attractions. Constructed during the 15th century by the Incas, and discovered in 1911 by an American historian, it is an extraordinary feat of engineering. Palaces and temples such as the Temple of the Sun and the Royal and Sacred areas were carefully crafted from stone by hand and spread out over 80,500 acres of vertiginous terraces and open spaces, overlooked by the looming Wayna Picchu mountain, the highest point of the complex, affording dizzying views.
What to do in Machu Picchu
Visitors travelling to Machu Picchu can catch the train to the town of Aguas Calientes from the beautiful town of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley and then catch a bus to the site, while others venture on the 26-mile Inca Trail, which combines stunning mountain scenery, verdant cloud-forest, and pathways through ancient Incan relics and ruins.
During your visit to Machu Picchu, you can:
Walk in the footsteps of Peruvian Incas by arriving via the archaic Inca Trail
Take the glass domed train through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes
Hike up to the Sun Gate to experience panoramic views of the entire site
Visit the Temple of the Sun, one of the complex's most important buildings
See the Intihuatana, a carved stone that may have been used as a sun dial
Walk to the Temple of the Three Windows, one of the main ceremonial sites
Climb the stone steps of the lofty Wayna Picchu mountain to reach the highest point of the complex
Sleep on-site at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge
Soak tired limbs in the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes
Toast your incredible visit with a pisco sour at one of the bars in Aguas Calientes
Airports in Machu Picchu
Travelers looking for cheap flights to Machu Picchu should book their flights to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in the city of Cusco, which is the nearest airport to Machu Picchu. The airport in Cusco receives mainly domestic and some international flights, with most international flights arriving there via the international airport in Lima.