Introduction Historical context The natural setting The environment Flora and fauna About the disoccupation when discovered Description of Machu Picchu Wayna Picchu and the temple of the moon Reconstructing the past The productive activities The natural setting The natural setting is forested, tropical and rainy. It is found in the middle of steeply sloped mountains and is flanked by the profound canyon that the Urubamba River forms as it passes through this part of the Vilcanota basin. The Urubamba is the same river where the Sacred Valley of the Incas begins, skillfully transformed with irrigation systems, the channeling of the river-bed and the engineering of terraces for agriculture and habitation. In this part, however, a canyon has formed that is so deep and the sides are so steep they only allow for the construction of agricultural terraces. In the middle of this landscape is built the citadel of Machu Picchu.