Saturday, Aug 15, 2020, 3:52 pm

By:Mike Litzler

#3 Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu is 2,430 m above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest. It was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height; its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna. It was built by Incas around AD 1400. it was an abandoned place unknown to the outside world and was brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.