- Further to information provided by INEI (Institute of Statistical Information) in the 1993 Census, Machu Picchu District's population was of 2,298 inhabitants. Ten years later, its population grew to more than 5,500 inhabitants due to the high migration rate. Itinerant population is significant and it mainly includes travelers from all over the world, tourist staff and traders.

The government created Machu Picchu's Historic Sanctuary by passing the 001-81-AA decree-law on January 8th, 1981, in order to protect and preserve not only Machu Picchu's archeological value but also its magnificent natural environment of unique flora and fauna and its beautiful landscapes of surrounding woods.

Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary (Cusco-Peru) is strategically situated at the top of the Machu Picchu Mountain, at 2,350 meters above sea level, in Vilcabamba Mountain Range's western slope. The Vilcabamba Mountain Range is bordered by the Apurimac and Urubamba Rivers. The Historic Sanctuary is specifically located in the Valley of the Urubamba River (Also known as Vilcanota), at the lower part of the Holy Valley of the Incas, where you can access the high forest.

The Valley of the Urubamba River crosses the Sanctuary Region. This River descends from the snow-capped Andes at more than 6,000 meters above sea level. The river rushes with choppy waves on this lower part of the mountain range, showing its might. At the same time, it crosses the solid barrier of the Andes, creating an appealing landscape.

The imposing Salkantay (at 6271 meters above sea level), the largest snowcapped mountain in the Vilcanota Mountain Range, dominates the Sanctuary's landscape. The local town-dwellers worship this mountain as Apu (a protecting divinity). Machu Picchu combines the magnificence of natural, immensely beautiful surroundings with the beauty of the most famous pre-Hispanic ruins worldwide.

Within the Sanctuary, there are other ancient smaller towns as well as isolated buildings that used to provide lodging for travelers, control posts and, what are perhaps the most amazing production centers anywhere, with farming terraces (platforms) and complex irrigation systems. All these buildings are connected with each other through a sophisticated network of stony tracks, the Inca Trail.

Although Machu Picchu's purpose is not clearly known, it undoubtedly formed part of a complex of Inca fortresses at the time it was built. These Inca fortresses protected the Holy Valley's Inca territory from the "Indians of the Forests".

Cusco's Aguas Calientes railway has a station known as Puente Ruinas that is at 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) altitude. Buses leave this station for the most famous Archaeological Center of South America (the trip takes 3 hours and 30 minutes by train) up to the area of Aguas Calientes; and from there, they go another 8 kilometers uphill, along the mountain slope, up to Machu Picchu Citadel (25 minutes).