Machu Picchu a fortress city of the ancient Incas, in a high saddle between two peaks circa 50 miles (80 km) NW of Cuzco. Machu Picchu (which means "manly peak") was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler. About 1,200 people lived in and around Machu Picchu, most of them women, children, and priests. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through cisterns and stone channels, and temples hang on steep precipices.