Machu Picchu << MAH choo PEEK choo or MAH choo PEE choo >> 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. It stands on a high ridge in a heavily forested part of the Andes Mountains.
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. 
Construction of Machu Picchu began sometime after about 1438, when the Inca ruler Pachacuti defeated enemy tribes in the region. Scholars think Machu Picchu was abandoned shortly after the Spanish began their conquest of the Inca in 1532. 
Machu Picchu’s archaeological importance was first recognized in 1911, when the American explorer Hiram Bingham visited the site. Peru’s government now sponsors research and reconstruction there. The site has become Peru’s chief tourist attraction. Research from the early 2000’s indicates that the site’s original name was Huayna Picchu.
