Machu Picchu is most commonly said to have been “discovered” for the outside world by the American explorer and Yale professor Hiram Bingham III in 1911.

Quick Scoop

  • In 1911, Hiram Bingham was led by local Quechua-speaking farmers and guides to the ruins now known as Machu Picchu, which he then publicized internationally through articles, lectures, and a widely read National Geographic feature.
  • Because of that publicity, Bingham is often credited in textbooks and popular media as the man who “discovered” Machu Picchu, even though local people already knew the site and had families farming there.
  • Modern Peruvian and some scholarly sources emphasize that locals such as Agustín Lizárraga reached the ruins earlier (notably in 1902) and even left his name inscribed at the site, so many today distinguish between the local “first finders” and Bingham’s later “rediscovery” for the wider world.

Short historical note

  • Machu Picchu itself was built by the Inca in the 15th century, likely during the reign of the emperor Pachacuti, and then abandoned in the 16th century after the Spanish conquest, remaining largely unknown to global audiences for centuries.
  • The key date usually given in histories is 24 July 1911 , when Bingham reached the citadel and began the work that turned Machu Picchu into one of the most famous archaeological sites on Earth.

TL;DR:

  • “Official/academic” answer: Hiram Bingham III “discovered” (rediscovered) Machu Picchu in 1911.
  • Nuanced answer: Local residents, especially Agustín Lizárraga, had already found and used the site years before Bingham arrived.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.