7 July 2011Last updated at 07:51

In Pictures: Celebrating Machu Picchu's rediscovery

Machu Picchu covered by overgrown jungle in 1912

Peruvians are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu, the Inca city in the Andes mountains. When American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham found the site in 1911, it was mostly hidden beneath dense jungle.

Hiram Bingham (left) and three members of his team

These photographs were taken by Mr Bingham (left) and his team of explorers, historians, and botanists on an expedition to Machu Picchu in 1912, a year after he first spotted the ruins.

Stone walls covered in overgrown plants at the Machu Picchu site

Machu Picchu was largely unknown to the outside world until 7 July 1911, when Hiram Bingham reached the ruins and later spread news about the find internationally.

Hiram Bingham became famous as the site's modern discoverer, but it is now widely accepted that other explorers had been to the citadel prior to the journey by the scholar from Yale University.

Machu Picchu after having brush around the site chopped down and cleared

Machu Picchu, thought to have been built by the Incas around 1450, sits at a height of 7,970ft (2,430m) in the Andes mountains, above the Urubamba valley. Mr Bingham's team cleared trees and debris to uncover the buildings for the first time in centuries.

Workers clearing brush around a large stone wall

Mr Bingham and his team excavated thousands of artefacts from the citadel and took them back to the US for further study. After decades of controversy, Yale University agreed last year to return them. Here, Peruvian soldier Lieutenant Tomas Sotomayor (left) oversees the search at the Chief Temple.

Hiram Bingham looking at Incan pictographs on a large stone

Often referred to as "the lost city of the Incas", Machu Picchu is thought by some scholars to be the birth place of the Inca empire. Here, Mr Bingham studies pictographs engraved on a rock at the site.

Machu Picchu after several months of chopping down brush

After months of clearing the mountainside, the outlines of the Inca city became much clearer. The site is now Peru's most popular tourist destination. An average of 1,800 people a day visit the ruins.

Unesco named the Inca citadel a World Heritage Site in 1983, and in 2007 Machu Picchu was voted one of the wonders of the world.

Workers carrying part of a stage up the steps of Machu Picchu

The centennial commemoration of the site on Thursday will feature festivities and live music. Here, workers can be seen carrying pieces of a large stage up Machu Picchu's stone steps.

Chilean musician Mario Mutis performing atop Machu Picchu

Chilean musician Mario Mutis, a member of the legendary Chilean band Los Jaivas, is scheduled to play the event in commemoration of its rediscovery. The archive pictures from the expedition are currently on display at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC.

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In Pictures: Celebrating Machu Picchu's rediscovery

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