History  

Off course the locals knew about its existence. It had only been concealed from the conquistadors because of its remote location. Bingham’s merit is to have been the first to explore Machu Picchu.
He began excavating and uncovered its foundations. He sent hundreds of artifacts to the University of Yale, where they are still being kept in store. The Peruvian government is now trying to persuade the University to return these cultural treasures.

Visitors still have relatively unrestricted access to Machu Picchu. Some people, however, strive to make access more limited. They even hope to limit visits to a lookout post, so that people can admire the citadel from a distance.
   
  The Inca Emporium      
 

The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru from the year 1200, reaching its peak around 1400 AD. The term Inka means lord, in Quechua, and was used to refer to the ruling class or the ruling family in the empire. Today the term refers to the entire Inca era and culture:

The Inca were great warriors and had a great urge to expand their empire. At the peak of their power the empire covered the territory of present-day Ecuador, Chile and Argentina.Quechua, the official language, is still spoken by 6 million Peruvians today.

The Inca are also known to be excellent architects. They constructed numerous earthquake-proof buildings, mostly near their capital Cusco.
Most of their legendary gold treasures melted and shipped off by Spanish conquistadors. A large part of their constructions was demolished and built into stone pits to construct colonial mansions and churches.
More important was the “discovery” of the Machu Picchu in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.