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A Nerve-Racking Climb

3 Bingham led an expedition to Peru. He went with his party to Cuzco in
the foothills of the Andes. From there they climbed into the Urubamba

gorge. On July 23, 1911 the group camped on the land of a local farmer,
who told Bingham about ruins on top of a ridge. Bingham paid the
farmer to guide him there, and the two set out one cold, drizzly
morning. It was a nerve-racking climb up steep, rocky slopes and along
narrow mountain paths. At times the professor had to crawl on his
hands and knees across narrow bridges stretching over terrifying gorges.

A Sensational Find

4 At the top of the ridge Bingham and
the farmer rested in a hut, where locals
told them about the nearby ruins. An
11-year-old boy escorted the professor
past overgrown terraces to some white
granite walls. Bingham saw palaces,
temples, terraces, and towers.
Astonishing! It was an ancient Inca
city, known to locals as Machu Picchu.
Bingham was overwhelmed. He led
three additional expeditions to Machu
Picchu over the next four years.

Building Machu Picchu

Built in 1450, Machu Picchu, or “old mountain,” is a spectacular, highly ordered
city covering a site of around 3 square miles (8 square km). Its houses, temples,
workshops, and other buildings were built using a simple design. Large granite
blocks were shaped and sanded by hand until they fit together perfectly
without needing mortar. There were no rounded arches or decorative carvings.
On the outskirts of the city the steep hillsides were terraced for farming, and
fertile soil was brought up from the valley to grow sweet potatoes, sugarcane,
yucca, and corn.

outskirts The outskirts of a city or town are its outer edges, farthest away from the center.

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