situated on a ridge, 2,430 metres
[7,970 feet] above sea level, Machu Picchu is South America’s largest [sic]
tourist attraction. It’s thought that it was built, as an estate, for Inca emperor
Pachacuti around 1450. When it was “rediscovered”, by Hiram Bingham in
1911, it was overgrown and in disrepair, but the Inca building technique
known as “ashlar” [in which stones are cut to shape and fit together without
the use of mortar] was still quite obvious. Subsequent reconstruction, and
renovations, which are ongoing, allow visitors to view this style of construction.
These workers were compacting earthen floors in one section of the site.