Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is an Inca archaeological site in Peru that probably served as a royal estate. The site holds the ruins of buildings constructed in the A.D. 1400's. Machu Picchu is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Cusco, the former Inca capital, in a heavily forested part of the Andes Mountains. It has become Peru's chief tourist attraction.
Machu Picchu was probably used as a home for members of the Inca royal family when they were away from Cusco. It had palaces where the royalty could stay and entertain their guests. It also had houses for the farmers, weavers, and servants who lived at the site and worked for the royal family. The buildings were made of granite and had steep thatch roofs to protect residents from the frequent rains. Scholars think Machu Picchu was abandoned shortly after the Spanish began their conquest of the Inca in 1532.
Excerpt adapted from the "Machu Picchu" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999