Discover Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu's buildings use classic Inca ashlar masonry -- granite blocks cut and fitted together with such precision that no mortar was needed to hold them in place, some joints tight enough that a blade still can't slide between the stones. That same precision fitting is a major reason the structures have survived centuries of earthquakes in a seismically active region -- the stones can shift slightly and resettle rather than crack.

Building material was quarried directly on site wherever possible, and construction was adapted closely to the mountain's own terrain rather than flattening it -- walls, terraces, and stairways follow the natural contours of the ridge instead of imposing a uniform grid on top of it.