Built in the 15th century under the reign of the Inca emperor Pachacuti, this city was a testament to the empire's power and ...

Rising from obscurity in Peru's Cusco Valley during the 13th century, a royal Inca dynasty charmed, bribed, intimidated, or conquered its rivals to create the largest pre-Columbian empire in the ...

Sacrifices were often made during or after a portentous event: an earthquake ... the crown seat of the Inca empire. Priests, family members, and chiefs would accompany the child on this great ...

But among the holiest places in the empire were mountain peaks, which the Inca and other peoples in the Andes often regarded as representing the origin points of societies, and the resting places ...

The legend begins in the 16th century, when the great Inca Empire in western South America was giving way to European invaders. Atahualpa was an Inca king who, after warring with his half-brother ...

All gold belonged to the ruler of the empire, the Inca himself, who claimed to be descended from the sun god. Llamas were the Incas' most important domestic animal, providing food, clothing and ...

Dead for 500 years, this Inca sacrificial mummy found on ... reach—the ice-clad summits of Andean peaks. Truly auspicious events, such as the death of an emperor, prompted human sacrifices ...

Though the 16th-century Spanish conquistador invasion ended the Inca Empire, the legacy of the Incas lives on in their architectural triumphs—precise, remarkably engineered stoneworks rising ...

Discover the Sacred Valley, hike to Ollantaytambo’s Inca fortress, and marvel at the Moray terraces and Maras salt pans. Trek the Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, witnessing breathtaking views from ...

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 ...