Machu Picchu Pictures -- National Geographic

Located high in the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu was hidden from the outside world for hundreds of years. Explore the well-preserved Inca ruins in this gallery of photos submitted by National Geographic fans. Then, submit your own photos from Machu Picchu and Peru to My Shot tagged #mp100.

Llama
Photograph by Gayathri Vuppuluri, My Shot
Llamas, like the one shown here, are a common sight at Machu Picchu. Used as pack animals for centuries by Andean dwellers, the camel relatives were also sources of leather, wool, and meat for the Inca.
Machu Picchu at Sunrise
Photograph by Jeff Bridges, My Shot
Machu Picchu’s cascading terraces and precision-cut stones provide evidence of the masterful building skills of the Inca, whose empire included a vast realm of 12 million people at its height.
Stone Wall
Photograph by Kee Woo Rhee, My Shot
Mountains rise above stone walls at Machu Picchu, which served as a royal retreat. The Inca quarried and moved stones weighing more than a hundred tons despite lacking wheeled vehicles and iron tools.
Tourists, Huayna Picchu
Photograph by Rafael Amado, My Shot
Visitors to Machu Picchu take in the view from Huayna Picchu, the peak that looms over the Inca site. The Urubamba River cuts through the valley below.
Stone Structures
Photograph by Caroline Beatty, My Shot
According to Hiram Bingham, who uncovered and excavated the site during an expedition in 1912, the quality of the stonework at Machu Picchu dwellings reflected the status of their residents.
Urubamba River Gorge
Photograph by Kee Woo Rhee, My Shot
The Urubamba River is seen below terraces carved into a ridge at Machu Picchu. The rich soil of the Urubamba River Valley continues to support the high-yield varieties of corn developed by the Inca.
Llamas
Photograph by Jane Lyn, My Shot
Llamas graze beside the ruins at Machu Picchu. Both llamas and alpacas served crucial roles during the Inca’s reign. South America’s only draft animal, a llama could carry 70 pounds of gear on its back.
Machu Picchu
Photograph by Magdalena Stawska, My Shot
Hiram Bingham was a 35-year-old assistant professor at Yale University when he set out from a camp on the Urubamba River to investigate reports of ruins on a towering ridge known as Machu Picchu (“old mountain” in the Inca language). What he found was an Inca ghost town that had been hidden from the outside world for nearly 400 years.
Machu Picchu
Photograph by David Tran, My Shot
In a few generations, the Inca conquered 2,500 miles along South America’s mountainous spine, building the largest empire of the New World’s native civilizations. The empire fell apart after the Spanish conquest in 1532.
Machu Picchu
Photograph by Danielle Lankhaar, My Shot
Nearly 2,000 people visit Machu Picchu each day. The remote retreat was one of the few Inca sites untouched by the Spanish invaders.
Huayna Picchu Terraces
Photograph by Kee Woo Rhee, My Shot
Terraces are carved high on Huayna Picchu. For decades Machu Picchu was a puzzle for archaeologists and historians. A 16th-century legal document and studies of the site’s architecture and artifacts in the latter 20th century have suggested a mountaintop retreat for Inca ruler Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui.

Peru: Land of the Inca

Explore Machu Picchu with a National Geographic expert—delve into the world of the Inca on a nine-day expedition to Cusco, Lima, and the Urubamba Valley.