OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaMachu Picchu is an ancient stone city high up in the Andes Mountains of Peru. It sits nearly 8,000 feet above sea level, which is higher than most clouds! The Inca people built it around the year 1450, more than 500 years ago.
The city has about 200 stone buildings, including houses, temples, and storerooms. The Inca cut the stones so carefully that they fit together perfectly without any glue or cement. They also built terraces like giant steps on the mountainside to grow corn and potatoes.
- For hundreds of years, most of the world forgot about Machu Picchu.
- It was hidden in thick jungle.
- In 1911, an explorer named Hiram Bingham brought it to the world’s attention.
- Today, about a million people visit every year to see this amazing mountain city.
