Machu Picchu Machu Picchu, north of Cuzco at an almost unreachable and remote place in the mountains, is an old Inca town and was discovered in 1911. The locals called it Machu Picchu, which means ancient peak. Some scientists think Machu Picchu is the legendary Inca city of Vilcabamba, but this has never been proven and probably this is not true. Machu Picchu. Image © Richard Crook Machu Picchu is one of the main tourist sites on earth, and people from all over the world come here to visit the ruins. Although the ancient city is surrounded by green jungle-covered mountains, it can be quite chilly at night and in the early morning at 2400 metres above sealevel. When you visit Machu Picchu at sunrise, it is truely a place of magic when the ruins and the surrounding mountains are covered in a dense morning fog. To visit Machu Picchu, you must prepare the soul, sharpen the senses. Forget for some minutes, the small and transcendental problems of our lifes, of modern... man... (Quote by Napoleon Polo, Cuzco Peru) Image © Hector A. Patrucco Machu Picchu Aguas Calientes, the rainway station near Machu Picchu, during tropical rainfall. Image © Richard Crook Aguas Calientes. Image © LucSicard