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This study was designed to determine if spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus) confine their activities to habitat units of vegetation within broad habitat types. Vegetation data were recorded in the Historical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu and adjacent valleys from 230 transects located in 143 regularly selected sites and in 87 sites that contained bear sign. Information on bear behavior was gathered from sign found at the 87 sites and in an additional 48 sites where vegetation studies along transects were not conducted. The data were analyzed using TWINSPAN, a classification program, and DECORANA, an ordination program, to describe 9 habitat types, 6 of which were occupied by bears. Seven vegetative units located in 4 habitat types contained 83% of the sites where evidence of bear presence was found. One such vegetative unit was found in both subalpine paramo (3,600-4,150 m) and rain paramo (3,400-4,000 m), 2 were found in steppe grasslands (3,050-3,650 m), and 3 were found in forests below 2,700 m. These spectacled bear habitat components were characterized by bear food species with relative abundance values greater than 5.0% and no human or livestock presence. Although minimum area requirements are not known for spectacled bears, the results of this study suggest that the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is too small to protect spectacled bears without the protection of adjacent habitat.