Machu Picchu Centennial 2011

This year 2011 marks the centenary of the discovery of Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas and one of the modern 7 Wonders of the World. The citadel was discovered on July 24th, 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an US historian then employed as a lecturer at Yale University.

The discovery of Machu Picchu was quite casual, as Bingham's original goal was to locate Vilcabamba, the legendary city where the descendants of the Inca aristocracy had allegedly take shelter, between 1536 and 1572, to defend against the Conquistadors.

In "The Lost City of the Incas", the book that brought Machu Picchu to the attention of the world, Bingham describes how a peasant named Melchor Arteaga told him about some important ruins at the foot of the mountain known as Machu Picchu.

And On July 24th, 1911 Arteaga lead Bingham to the place. As the US historian inspected astonished the stone citadel, he noted down in his diary: "Would anyone believe what I have found…?".

The celebration of the centenary of Machu Picchu is expected to attract an audience of at least 500 million people around the world according to the head of Peru's National Tourism Chamber, Carlos Canales.

The ceremony will be held on July 7th 2011 in the Incan citadel, and will be broadcast via satellite. Peruvian Nobel Prize winner, Mario Vargas Llosa, will open the centennial ceremony.

Invitations to the ceremony have been extended to many local and international personalities, including the Heads of State of the other six wonders of the world, Cusco’s governor and mayor, and ten of Bingham’s grandchildren.

 Moreover, 250 journalists from around the world and 250 entrepreneurs (100 international businessmen and 100 related to the tourism sector) will also attend the event.