The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, which would be stunning anywhere, are truly spectacular in their Andean setting, high above the Urubamba River. And Cuzco, once the center of the Inca Empire and now a vibrant gateway to Inca ruins, is even higher in the Andes. Peru is where pre-Columbian culture reached its most graceful peak. Like the Parthenon in Greece or the Pyramids of Egypt, the Inca and pre-Inca ruins of Peru provide an unforgettable glimpse of the genius of a lost world.