Machu Picchu was elected as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World on July 2007. After a 3-hour ride on trains owned and operated by Orient Express, guests will reach the citadel of Machu Picchu, re-discovered in 1911 by US Yale University archaeologist Hiram Bingham. While the Inca Empire reached its peak during the 1400īs, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was considered a sacred place from much earlier. Whatever its origins, the Incas turned the site into a small but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed its population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba River, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortar-less joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade.