Nestled 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. Imagine being one of the original Incas who lived in these high fastnesses with its panoramic vistas and soaring peaks.

The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.. Since then, most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like. By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored. This restoration work continues to this day.

Surprisingly there is no record of the ancient Spanish having visited this remote city. Bolstering this fact is that the types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu.