Where is Machu Picchu and how high is it?

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Thinking of traveling to South America and at the same time visiting one of the 7 wonders of the world?

Visiting Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, in Peru, is one of the things we all have on our “Things to do before you die” list (at least it’s on mine…)

If you want to take that step and you are with the typical questions of where is Machu Picchu? or how high is Machu Picchu in meters?. In this post, we tell you the essentials so you can keep some dates in the calendar and plan this spectacular trip.

Where is Machu Picchu?

The archaeological site of Machu Picchu is located in the Andes Mountains, on its way through Peru. On a map, the location of Machu Picchu is 13° 9′ 47″ south latitude and 72° 32′ 44″ west longitude.

To make us understand each other better, this wonder of the world is placed 500 km east of the Peruvian capital, Lima.

More specifically, the historic town of Machu Picchu is located in the province of Urubamba and is part of the department of Cusco. This city, capital of the district of the same name and ancient capital of the Inca civilization, is much closer, about 100 km, although the distance will depend in each case, the route of the Inca Trail is one of the most beautiful to reach Machu Picchu.

In addition, the city of Cusco is where most of the tours depart from to reach this mountainous area also known as “Batolito de Vilcabamba”. The summits of both mountains, Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu, are located to the north and south respectively of the town.

The nearest inhabited town is Aguas Calientes, and it is usually the commuter town for the visit to Machu Picchu, especially if you want to enjoy the sunrise in this beautiful place. It has a train station, and you have several possibilities to get there.

How high is Machu Picchu?

Although it is not the highest area in the province of Urubamba, the historical sanctuary of Machu Picchu is located at about 2450 meters above sea level (masl).

If you are in an English-speaking country, such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada, you will probably be more familiar with this foot metric. Well, in this case, the height of Machu Picchu for you is around 8,000 feet.

The hills that surround the village, both Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu are at a higher altitude. In the case of the Machu Picchu mountain, its peak is 2,795 meters above sea level, while to the north, the Huayna Picchu mountain, has a maximum altitude of 2,667 meters.

As I was saying, despite being a considerable height, it is not one of the highest places in the area. The altitude of Cusco, for example, is about 3,400 meters above sea level, that is, about 1,000 meters difference!

After all this… Have you decided to cross out Machu Picchu from your list and already want to visit this archaeological wonder?