If you say Peru, most people will say Machu Picchu.
And for good reasons, because "the lost city of the Incas" was never discovered
by the Spanish and thus survived the usual plundering / demolition.
Heavy vegitation has caused degradation over the last
500 years or so, but most of the hardware is still intact.
The function of Machu Picchu is unclear, but most pundits think it was
a kind of royal retreat. Build around 1450, only 100 years later it was abandonned when the Spanish conquered the Inca
Empire.
Allthough known to locals, it was not untill 1911 that American historian Hiram Bingham made his "discovery"
world news.
Since then the site has been cleared of vegitation and some of the constructions have been restored and an access road
was build.
Despite the thousands of tourists that visit every day, come sun, rain or snow, the place is still magnificent
and pure magic.
We stood there
in awe in June 2008.