It is thought that it was a royal Inca residence and was perhaps the centre for collecting coca from surrounding plantations. The site eventually fell into ruin, was covered by the encroaching forest, and 'lost to science' until re-discovery in 1911. The original inhabitants were skilled in irrigation and built terraces and drainage which extend long distances across irregular ground. The nearby city of Cuzco was the Inca capital and still remains an important town with over 105,000 inhabitants. In the mid 1980s, some 180,000 people annually visited the Inca Trail and the ruins.
Accommodation includes a hotel and camping facilities.
A museum exists at the ruins and there are plans to develop the area further for tourism. Vegetation transects have been undertaken, and over 4,500 herbarium specimens have been collected. This urban creation of the Inca Empire, which appears to have been naturally cut in the continuous rock escarpment, is an area of outstanding natural beauty which encompasses patches of high altitude habitats and associated wildlife. The site also harbours populations of the threatened spectacled bear. The site was established to protect the natural heritage and landscape of the region around the ancient ruins of Macchu Picchu.