"The Lost City" a Machu Picchu Travel Page by Amareyui

Machu Picchu was the main reason why I chose to go to Peru.
When I was planning my trip to South America, the first thing that came to my mind was this mysterious ruin. Without much hesitation, I made my decision, and before I realized it, I was there; the Lost City of the Incas.

Machu Picchu, despite being the "Lost City", was not constructed as a city. It was founded by Inca Pachacuti as a royal estate and religious retreat after the Incas defeated the rival Chanca people in 1438. Its remote location had neglect any administrative, commercial or military significance.
Serving as a holy place reserved for the royalty and priests, Machu Picchu wasnt well-known within the empire even before the Spaniard arrived.
Machu Picchu was probably abandoned around 1527, when the Inca Empire was severely weaken by the small pox the Spaniard carried from Europe. Due to the enormous expenses needed to maintain the site and with most of the population dead from war or epidemic, it was hard to find the labour to keep it up.
Thanks to the scarce resources about Machu Picchu, and the lack of enthusiasm by the first wave of Spanish who had little interest in anything besides wealth and power, Machu Picchu wasnt rediscovered by the outside world until 1911.