Machu Picchu in Peru is Not Actually Machu Picchu, Here’s an Interesting Trivia That Will Totally Surprise You!

According to their findings, the site was named after the closest rocky summit which was the name of the highest mountain near the city.

New day comes new facts. As per a recent discovery, the famous ancient Incan site of Machu Picchu has been misnamed for more than a 100 years. It was first visited in 1911 by US explorer Hiram Bingham. According to reports, a new academic paper has said that the spot was known by the wrong name since its rediscovery which was made more than a century ago.

The site has been a popular tourist spot for a really long time. This archaeological site as been closely studied for decades. US archaeologist and a Peruvian historian, talking about its name, has argued that the UNESCO World Heritage Site was known as Huayna Picchu or simple Picchu by inhabitants of Inca. According to a paper published by Nawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology, not a single source referred to the site as Machu Picchu.

Further, while going through maps, archives and documents, they found a 1904 atlas which was published sever years before Bingham first arrived in Peru. There, the site was mentioned as Huayna Picchu.

According to their findings, the site was named after the closest rocky summit which was the name of the highest mountain near the city. As per reports, the original name of the site has come up more than once throughout history. It also includes accounts written by Spaniards in the late 16th century and in a 1904 atlas.