Lively peaks of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, Peru

A vie of Machu Picchu mountains

Located almost eight thousand feet above sea level in Peru, Machu Picchu is one of the most amazing feats of architecture in the world. While you might think it's a pretty weird place to put a city, you'd be wrong: most believe it was an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, who really must've need to take some time away from it all.

For hundreds of years, until the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911, the abandoned citadel’s existence was a secret known only to peasants living in the region. The site stretches over an impressive 5-mile distance, featuring more than 3,000 stone steps that link its many different levels. Today, hundreds of thousands of people tramp through Machu Picchu every year, braving crowds and landslides to see the sun set over its towering stone monuments and marvel at the mysterious splendor of one of the world's most famous manmade wonders.

On the morning of July 24, 1911, a tall lecturer-cum-explorer from Yale University set off in a cold drizzle to investigate rumors of ancient Inca ruins in Peru. The explorer chopped his way through thick jungle, crawled across a "bridge" of slender logs bound together with vines, and crept through underbrush hiding venomous fer-de-lance pit vipers.

Two hours into the hike, the explorer and his two escorts came across a grass-covered hut. A pair of Indian farmers walked them a short way before handing them over to a small Indian boy. With the boy leading the way, Hiram Bingham stumbled upon one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century—and what was named in 2007 as one of the new seven wonders of the world: Machu Picchu.

According to Whitney Dangerfield of Smithsonian.com, approximately 2,500 tourists visit Machu Picchu every day. Machu Picchu is Peru's top tourist attraction, situated high in the Andes Mountains of South America. These impressive ruins left behind by the ancient Inca civilization have been classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Machu Picchu has a subtropical climate with rainy and dry seasons. May through August is winter, and this is also the dry season. Average temperatures hover around 45 degrees Fahrenheit. September to April is summer, and the temperatures average 65 degrees. This is the rainy season, and high levels of precipitation often cause landslides, making it harder to travel. According to Enjoy Peru, the best time to visit Machu Picchu is in May or June when temperatures are mild and precipitation is minimal.