Llama at Machu Picchu, Peru Poster

"Llama at Machu Picchu" by Catherine Sherman. A llama poses on a terrace at Machu Picchu, an Inca archeological site in the Andes of Peru. This llama is part of a domestic herd that lives at Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is thought to be an estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti, who ruled 1438 to 1472. It was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire and was abandoned in 1572. This citadel is probably the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incan empire depended on the llama to transport trade goods, root crops, and building materials to extremely difficult to reach locations throughout the South American highlands. Machu Pichu is perched on a high saddle at 7,970 feet (2,430 meters), between two jagged mountain peaks, 2,000 ft. above the Urubamba River. Although the Machu Picchu citadel is only about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Cusco, the Inca capital, the Spanish never found it and consequently did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. After Machu Picchu was abandoned, the surrounding jungle grew over the site, and few knew of its existence. American historian Hiram Bingham brought international attention to the site in 1911. The National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu. In 1983 UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization." In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In 1981 Peru declared an area of 325.92 square kilometres (125.84 sq mi) surrounding Machu Picchu as a "Historical Sanctuary" It's a very popular tourist destination, but because of the pressure of it being loved to death, tourist numbers are limited each day.