The 'lost city' Hiram Bingham found in 1911 was never lost to the people living there

Bingham is widely credited with 'discovering' Machu Picchu in 1911, but local farmer Melchor Arteaga led him straight to it for a small fee, and Quechua families were already farming its terraces when he arrived. Bingham's real contribution was bringing international scientific attention and funding, via Yale and National Geographic, to a site local communities had never actually forgotten. His own guide didn't need to search for it.

— Hiram Bingham III, Hiram Bingham III — 'Rediscovered' for Yale and National Geographic, 1911