destinations

Inca Architecture and Civil Engineering

Machu Picchu, Peru

For more than 300 years, the Inca ruled a large swathe of pre-Columbian South America, from Ecuador to Chile. Although their empire diminished with the Spanish conquest that began in 1533, their remarkable achievements in architecture and engineering live on, most notably in the iconic mountain citadel of Machu Picchu and the ancient capital of Cusco.

Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu
Stone walls built by the Inca in Cusco, Peru
Inca
Visitors hiking up a stairway on the Inca trail at Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu picchu stairs
Q’eswachaka rope suspension bridge over the Apurímac River, Peru
River crossing Peru
Water irrigation system at Machu Picchu, Peru
Water irrigation, Machu Picchu