Machu Picchu means 'old mountain', and the peak in the background is Huayna Picchu which means 'young mountain'.  The city was built here in the 1400's by the Inca king Pachacutec, who founded the Inca Empire and is responsible for its greatest monuments.  The site is in a remote part of the Peruvian Andes, about 70 miles away from the nearest town of signficance, Cusco.  Although at the top of this mountain and often in the clouds, Machu Picchu lies at only 9,000 ft -- two thousand feet lower than Cusco!  It definitely doesn't seem so when you're on site.