Photograph by Simon Tong
In this breathtaking capture by Simon Tong, we see the morning rays from the sun peeking through the clouds and shining upon Peru’s iconic Machu Picchu. The famous 15th-century Inca site is located 2,430 meters (7,970 ft) above sea level on a mountain ridge above the Sacred Valley.
Recognized in 1983 as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Incas built the estate around 1450, abandoning it a century later during the Spanish Conquest. It was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. [source]
