Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a 2,430-meter (7,970 ft) mountain ridge. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometers (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. The Urubamba River flows past it, cutting through the Cordillera and creating a canyon with a tropical mountain climate. In reference to the site's name, for most English or Spanish speakers, the first 'c' in Picchu is silent. In English, the name is pronounced MAH-choo PEE-choo or MATCH-oo PEAK-choo, in Spanish as or, and in Quechua as.
A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region. It may operate through the mountains by following mountain valleys and tunneling beneath mountain passes, or it may climb a mountain to provide transport to and from the summit.
Hiram Bingham III was an American academic, explorer and politician. In 1911, he publicized the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and rediscovered with the guidance of local indigenous farmers. Later, Bingham served as the 69th Governor of Connecticut for a single day in 1925—the shortest term in history. He had been elected in 1924 as governor, but was also elected to the Senate and chose that position. He served as a member of the United States Senate until 1933.
The Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Perú (Enafer) is a public company which ensures the management and the commercial use of the railway network of Peru.
Machupicchu or Machupicchu Pueblo, also known as Aguas Calientes, is a location in Peru situated in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province. It is the seat of the Machupicchu District. Machupicchu lies at the Vilcanota River. It is the closest access point to the historical site of Machu Picchu which is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away or about a 90-minute walk. There are many hotels and restaurants for tourists, as well as natural hot baths which gave the town its colloquial Spanish name.
The Belmond Hotel Monasterio is a five-star hotel in Cusco, Peru. It is a refurbished Baroque seminary built in the 17th century on Inca foundations. The hotel is located two blocks from the Plaza de Armas.
PeruRail is a railway operator providing tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru. It was founded in 1999 by two Peruvian entrepreneurs and the British company Sea Containers.
The Great South Pacific Express was a luxury Australian train service, run in by Queensland Rail and Belmond, the operator of the Venice-Simplon Orient Express.
Peruvian architecture is the architecture carried out during any time in what is now Peru, and by Peruvian architects worldwide. Its diversity and long history spans from ancient Peru, the Inca Empire, Colonial Peru to the present day.
Belmond Ltd. is a hospitality and leisure company that operates luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide. In 2015, the company had 35 deluxe hotels, 7 tourist trains, 3 river cruises and restaurants in 22 countries.
Since the 2000s, Tourism in Peru makes up the nation's third largest industry, behind fishing and mining. Tourism is directed towards archaeological monuments, ecotourism in the Peruvian Amazon, cultural tourism in colonial cities, gastronomic tourism, adventure tourism, and beach tourism. According to a Peruvian government study, the satisfaction rate for tourists after visiting Peru is 94%. Tourism is the most rapidly growing industry in Peru, growing annually at a rate of 25% over the past five years. Tourism is growing in Peru faster than any other country in South America. Iperú is the Peruvian national tourist office.
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is a hiking trail in Peru that terminates at Machu Picchu. It consists of three overlapping trails: Mollepata, Classic, and One Day. Mollepata is the longest of the three routes with the highest mountain pass and intersects with the Classic route before crossing Warmiwañusqa. Located in the Andes mountain range, the trail passes through several types of Andean environments including cloud forest and alpine tundra. Settlements, tunnels, and many Incan ruins are located along the trail before ending the terminus at the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The two longer routes require an ascent to beyond 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) above sea level, which can result in altitude sickness.
Luxury trains are a premium passenger rail service. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others take passengers on a ride through a single country.
Television in Peru has a history of more than 60 years. There are 105 television broadcasters in Peru, 22 of which are in Lima. In regard to television receivers, in 2003 there were 5,470,000 — that is 200 televisions for every thousand inhabitants. The number of cable subscribers was 967,943 in 2011.
Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado is a hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, 46 kilometres from Cusco, Peru. It is built on the banks of the Urubamba River by Urubamba, near the town of Ollantaytambo, which is known for its Inca archaeological site and as a starting point for one of the longer treks to Machu Picchu. The hotels features 11 suites, 10 rooms, and 2 villas. The hotel has extensive gardens constructed with streams reminiscent of Inca water channels.
Belmond Sanctuary Lodge is a small hotel situated at the entrance to the Machu Picchu Inca citadel. It is the only hotel at this World Heritage Site, and can be accessed by foot or by rail.
Belmond Hiram Bingham is a luxury train operating day return trips from Poroy station outside Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the station for Machu Picchu in Peru.
Belmond Andean Explorer, launched in May 2017, is South America's first luxury sleeper train. It replaces the eponymous Pullman day train, between Cusco and Puno, at Lake Titicaca. By the new train this trip is converted to a one-night journey, and extended from Puno for another overnight ride to Arequipa.
Richard Lewis Burger, Ph.D., is an archaeologist and anthropologist from the United States. He is currently a professor at Yale University and holds the positions of Charles J. MacCurdy Professor in the Anthropology Department, Chair of the Council on Archaeological Studies, and Curator in the Division of Anthropology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History. He has carried out archaeological excavations in the Peruvian Andes since 1975, publishing several books and many articles on Chavin culture, a pre-Hispanic civilization that developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru from 1000 BC to 400 BC. Burger is married to Lucy Salazar, a Peruvian archaeologist and long time collaborator on many research projects. His former doctoral student Sabine Hyland has become well-known as an Andean anthropologist.
Rafael Bernardo López Aliaga Cazorla is a Peruvian businessman and politician, who is serving as mayor of Lima since 2023. He is currently the leader of Popular Renewal, the successor to National Solidarity reformed in 2020.
