![ancient cities south america ancient cities south america](https://www.houseoftravel.co.nz/images/default-source/inspire-article-images/ek-balam-mexico.jpg)
![ancient cities south america ancient cities south america](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TX90FJPBL.jpg)
It was built around 1450, as the Incas spread their empire outwards from the capital Cusco, led by their visionary leader Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. Machu Picchu is the most well-known, well-preserved and spectacularly located Inca archaeological site in Peru and therefore is the most visited. Our list of the best Inca ruins starts at the famed lost citadel of the Incas, a magnificent royal complex sat amid misty cloud forest above a deep ridge above the Sacred Valley. Join us as we travel from the Inca heartland of the Sacred Valley, down to the sacred waters of Lake Titicaca and into Bolivia as we present our favourite Inca archaeological sites and how you can best experience them for yourselves.
![ancient cities south america ancient cities south america](https://www.orangesmile.com/extreme/img/w600/ancient-city-of-sucre_1.jpg)
Ranging from powerful citadels in the clouds to remote royal retreats, elaborate temples, ingenious crop terracing and sacred rocks, these locations reveal the resourcefulness, power, devotion and innovation with which the Incas ruled and peel back the layers of intrigue on their societal order and sacrificial rituals and ceremonies. South America's abundance of outstanding Inca ruins and archaeological sites allow us to piece together the story of the ancient civilisation and unlock the mysteries of life during the reign of the Incas. Unlock the mysteries of one of the world's greatest civilisations at the best Inca ruins and archaeological sites in Peru and Bolivia.