Machu Picchu, Peru

No trip to South America would be complete with out a visit to the infomous lost Inca city of Machu Picchu.  As mentioned earlier it was quite an ordeal to get our tickets but yesterday morning we woke up bright and early and took the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.  The train took us along a river that was fed from the glaciers high up on the mountain tops and we understood more why the valley might be considered sacred compared to the bone dry desert environment that we have experienced up until this point. 

From the train station we caught a bus and climbed up the mountain to the Machu Picchu ruins.  After entering the gates we were met by a mass of people all attempting to get the classic poster card snap shot of the ancient site.  Caught up in the commotion of it all we took several pictures and were glad to move on from the crowd.

We toured the ruins and took in some ´second hand’ information from some near by tour guides and the site really is impressive.  Not only is the location mind boggling but the amount of work it took to chisel every single stone used to build the structures was about a months time! We had a great time looking around but our real highlight was climbing Wayna Picchu.

Wayna Picchu is the tallest of the two mountain peaks that you classically see in pictures of Machu Picchu.  The site only allows 400 people a day (not a lot considering it allows thousands into the site a day) to climb the peak and you have to book in advance.  At 10 am we lined up to enter the park and were slightly concerned with the amount of people in line, hoping the trail would not get too crowded.  Luckily the trail remained quite open and we mostly met people on their way back down.

The trail was a steep 45min climb and while it was hard work, with shade and well maintained trail it seemed like a cake walk compared to Colca Canyon.  We arrived at the top to find not only a unique view of Machu Picchu but also some ruins that had steep narrow stairs allowing you to explore the area.  We have concluded that the altitude must have done something to the Inca’s sense of practicality as it seems absolutely ludicrous what they built on such a high remote location. 

We relaxed, caught our breath and headed back down and toured the main ruins some more before catching our train back to Ollantaytambo.  It was an amazing day but it took a lot out of us and we were in bed by 8pm.

R