Machu Pic­chu stands 2,430 m above sea-lev­­el, in the mid­dle of a trop­i­cal moun­tain for­est, in an extra­or­di­nar­i­ly beau­ti­ful set­ting. It was prob­a­bly the most amaz­ing urban cre­ation of the Inca Empire at its height, its giant walls, ter­races and ramps seem as if they have been cut nat­u­ral­ly in the con­tin­u­ous rock escarp­ments. The nat­ur­al set­ting, on the east­ern slopes of the Andes, encom­pass­es the upper Ama­zon basin with its rich diver­si­ty of flo­ra and fau­na.