American explorer Hiram Bingham III, guided by local farmers, reached the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu high in the Andes mountains of Peru on July 24, 1911, bringing the 'lost city' to global attention after it had been largely forgotten outside local knowledge. Built around 1450 and abandoned after the Spanish conquest, the site featured terraces, temples, and sophisticated stonework overlooking the Urubamba River. Bingham's expeditions publicized it widely through National Geographic. This rediscovery in the Cusco Region illuminated Inca engineering and culture.

Machu Picchu inspired 20th-century poets like Pablo Neruda, whose 'Heights of Machu Picchu' in 'Canto General' celebrated indigenous resilience and lost civilizations. It influenced Latin American literary movements exploring pre-Columbian heritage and colonialism's impact. The site's mystical aura enriched global poetry on ancient wonders, human achievement, and nature's reclamation, bridging indigenous and Western literary traditions.