Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In 1983, UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization". Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca.[9] Its construction appears to date to the period of the two great Inca rulers, Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438-71) and Túpac Inca Yupanqui (1472-93).[10] It was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest.[9][11] It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travellers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area.[12] Although it was located only about 80 kilometers (50 mi) from the Inca capital in Cusco, the Spanish never found Machu Picchu and so did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites.[13] The conquistadors had notes of a place called Piccho, although no record of a Spanish visit exists. The types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu.[11] Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have been discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns.[14] Some evidence indicates that German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier. Maps show references to Machu Picchu as early as 1874
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