Peru – Machu Picchu

No visit to Peru would be complete without a visit to Machu Picchu.  To be honest it is the prime reason that almost all tourists ultimately come here.  Sure there are many other lovely places to visit and interesting sites to visit but Machu Picchu tops all the lists.  And it does not disappoint!!

Bright and early on Monday morning I caught the train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes (the town just below Machu Picchu).  My plan was to go to Aguas Calientes on Monday and stay the night there.  Then very early on Tuesday I could catch the bus up to Machu Picchu and beat the tour groups which do MP as a day trip from Cuzco.

Unfortunately because it is technically the rainy season the train does not actually run directly from Cuzco.   You have to board a bus at the Cuzco train station and be driven out to a station about half way to Machu Picchu.  The bus trip takes about 1.5 hours.  I then took the vista dome train which has lovely panoramic windows for another 1.75 hours.  It was a lovely ride through the valley along beside the river with the tall mountains surrounding us.  The train goes very slowly so you can really enjoy the view.  They even served a  lovely morning snack.

Vista dome train

Urubamba river flowing through the Sacred Valley

Andes mountains

The town of Aguas Calientes itself isn’t much beyond a dozen blocks of concrete hotels and restaurants.  It is really just a layover stop for people on their way to Machu Picchu.

Statue in the main square

Hotels and restaurants in Aguas Calientes

I got up bright and early to catch the bus up to Machu Picchu.  It was so early in fact that there was no one at reception to give my key to and pay.  I hope they found the money I left for them!!  The buses are modern coaches that only go back and forth between the site and the town.  The ride took about 25 minutes zig zagging up the side of the mountain.  At the top we tumbled off the bus along with the other hoards arriving to avoid the crowds.  Since they only allow 2500 people in each day access is fairly restricted.  The guide I hired for the day said that Unesco actually has cameras up around the site and if they find that the Peruvian officials can’t control the visitors and prevent them harming the site (like climbing on the walls to pose for pictures) then Unesco may restrict it further.

The guide I hired was one of many who wait at the gate and so you just start chatting and find one that seems friendly and try and arrive at a fair price.  Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone else looking for an English guide at that time so I had to be prepared to pay full price myself.  This was alleviated part way into the tour as we were joined by an Australian guy who was wandering around wishing to join a group.  Anyway, we headed off into the site to explore and learn.

Machu Picchu was built starting in about 1430 as retreat for the Inca emperor.  They were working on it for about 80 years before it was abandoned.  The experts believe it was abandoned due to the internal conflicts which broke out between rivals for the crown. There is some evidence that it was never finished.  It was “discovered” by Hiram Bingham, an American historian guided by local farmers in 1911.  At the time it was totally covered in vines and vegetation.  This was totally removed revealing the current site which is in remarkable condition if you can imagine the buildings with thatched roofs you could almost move in!

Coming up to the main site with Wayna Picchu in the background

The main plaza with the residential section behind

Agricultural terraces looking back towards the entrance

Llamas are used to crop the grass – I think of them as “Inca Mowers”

Trapezoidal doorways – the shape makes them earth quake proof

The section first cleared by Hiram Bingham in 1911 during the wet season. Collapsing trees crushed many buildings. They waited until the dry season to burn all the vegetation covering the site.

Windows of the houses

Temple of the Three Windows

Stones that are part of the mountain mirror the other mountains behind adding to the sacredness of the space for the Incas

You can see how high up we are above the river below

Walls with stubbs supposedly used for telling time.

The temple district

More Inca mowers

Baby inca mower – oblivious to the ruins and the attentive crowds

In addition to seeing the main site and its many temples to water, the sun, the moon, the condor and other elements, we hiked up to the Sun Gate and to Inca Bridge.  The Sun Gate is actually a sun temple high up on a neighbouring mountain.  At the equinox and solstice the sun rises exactly at this spot and aligns with a window in the Temple of the Sun.   It is also the ending point for the Inca Trail which is a four day hike along one of the many original Inca tracks through the mountains to Machu Picchu.

The end of the Inca Trail

View of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate. The switch back road is where the bus comes up from Aguas Calientes.

We also hiked out to the Inca Bridge.  It’s not so much a bridge as a method of earthquake proofing their built up path along the mountain’s side.  On the way we passed the spot where all the “typical” pictures are taken of Machu Picchu so I followed tradition!

The money shot!!

And again

And again

At Inca Bridge – the wooden logs in the background right are the bridge

After visiting the bridge I bid good bye to my guide and stayed at the overlook point to enjoy the view and eat the bag lunch I brought from Aguas Calientes.  It really is a magical spot – overlooking the ruins surrounded by soaring mountains and the river rushing by hundreds of meters below.

I spent about 6 hours wandering around the site and enjoying the magical atmosphere (despite the tour groups).   It was a lovely time but then it was time to head back to Aguas Calientes to catch the train back to Cuzco again.

I had a wonderful time at Machu Picchu and would definitely recommend anyone should go.  I had a problem with altitude still but I saw people of all physical abilities making their way around.  It is a magic spot that has to be experienced.  I know I’ll be back if Unesco hasn’t shut it down by then!