The Inca built Machu Picchu in a remote section of the north-eastern Peruvian Andes, in the Amazon drainage. It is situated at the exact elevation of the abrupt change from Andean highlands ecology to that of Amazon jungle.

Machu Picchu was nearing completion when, in 1530, the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro invaded and conquered the Inca. Even though the Spanish never found Machu Picchu, support for the massive project ceased, and work came to a halt. It lay hidden in the mountains, unknown to outside world, until its "discovery" in 1911.

Macho Picchu is believed to have been intended as a kind of hermitage for a high class of Incan scholar/priests. Clearly, there was a large number of very able masons somehow living on or near the site during construction.

The public is not allowed to drive to Machu Picchu. There are no parking lots or hotels there. One may walk, or take a somewhat hair-raising bus trip.