26-28 June...The Mighty Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu at sunrise with mountain Huaynapicchu in the background

Lynne says..

There are two major problems with Machu Picchu. Firstly, unless you decide to trek to the site along with hundreds of litter-throwing tourists, you are forced to travel on the foreigners train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, an almost equally over-priced way of reaching the Inka city.

The train is without doubt the biggest example of dual pricing I have come across on our trip so far. The locals travel the same route for a tiny fraction of the price. Still, this is this biggest attraction in South America and unless the tourists stop coming, which is unlikely, the private rail company will continue to profit. I wonder how much money goes towards the upkeep of Machu Picchu itself or the poor agricultural communities which surround it?

The second major problem is the local town of Aguas Calientes. Visitors are forced to pass through this small and unappealing town en route to the ruins. The location is spectacular but the place itself is a building site lined with terrible tourist restaurants and the usual tacky souvenir shops. The town's only culinary saving grace is the fantastic Indi Feliz which serves great French/Peruvian bistro fare.

Despite the train and the town, Machu Picchu is without doubt an unmissable experience. We had time on our hands and decided to spend two nights in Aguas Calientes which allowed us to spend a full day at the ruins. Many tour groups only spend a few hours here but I can't understand why someone would come all this way only to leave three hours after arriving.


Insert your own old relics joke here...

We checked into a double room with private bathroom at the empty two star Hotel Jardin after I bargained the friendly receptionist down from an outrageous $50US per night to a much more reasonable $30US. We passed the evening sipping cold beers and waited over an hour for our pizza to arrive at Pizzeria Manu. The chef had successfully managed to cremate the edges yet undercook it in the middle. Welcome to Aguas Calientes.

The following day we caught the first mini bus to the city at 5.30am and I was surprised by the number of backpackers who were queuing up. I imagine many of them had been unable to book on to the trek itself or, like us, had been put off by the hundreds of trekkers who walk the Trail each day. Excitement hung in the air and a few eager beavers bizarrely started taking pictures of the queue.


The Inkas loved their steep stairs!

At exactly 6am the turnstiles opened and people began to file in. Several dozen people couldn't resist running to the first view point but Matt and I continued up a pathway until the highest viewpoint unveiled Machu Picchu before us in all its majesty. Strangely, my first impressions were not as breathtaking as I had expected but my awe of the place increased considerably as the day progressed.

Although the sky was light, the sun was hidden behind a mountain and the city was shrouded in shade. We continued along a pathway away from the city until we reached a barrier (a tourist had fallen to their death here a few years earlier so the pathway was closed). In the distance we could see the Inka drawbridge, connecting two parts of a narrow pathway carved into the side of the mountain. It would have made a formidable defence mechanism.

We made our way back to the highest agricultural terraces above the city and sat down to contemplate what lay before us. It is hard to describe just how magical this place is, a hidden city surrounded by mountains and lush green cloud forest. No pictures I have ever seen have done it justice.

Shafts of sunlight began to appear from the peaks of the mountains to our right, piercing the shade and throwing brilliant sunlight onto the ruins. Slowly the whole place was enveloped with sunlight. It was completely mesmorizing. I watched as people sat or stood transfixed, lost in their own thoughts. My impressions had already began to change. Perhaps the hype surrounding this place had affected my initial impressions.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the buildings and trying to work out what it all meant - we didn't have a guide and so let our imagination work things out. Around 2000 people lived here but no-one really knows its true significance or why it was abandoned.

Terrace upon terrace tumbled down into the valley and an intricate series of 16 connecting ceremonial baths with narrow channels of running water cascaded across the ruins. Roofless structures made up the residential area along with the industrial sector and a series of tiny prison cells. Higher up the site we wandered around the major ceremonial areas and dwellings of what must have been the most senior representatives of the city. Were young girls really sacrificed to the Sun God here?


Lynne bathes in the Ceremonial Baths (We're sure this isn't strictly allowed...)

A real highlight of the day was our climb to the summit of Waynapicchu, the mountain that overlooks the site. The Inkas had even built a few houses and terraces here. On the way back down we took a side path to The Temple of the Moon. A few buildings stood clustered around two small caves. Inside the caves, Inka walls had been built with small indentations. Were these used for ceremonial objects or for the bodies of the dead?


Lunch at the top of Huaynapicchu mountain overlooking the ruined city

Despite stories of huge groups of tourists swarming around the site we were surprised that it remained relatively quiet all day. Due to its sheer size it was easy to find solitude within the walls. By 4pm the vast majority of people had returned to Aguas Calientes so we virtually had the place to ourselves. We wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere - it was difficult to leave even after eleven hours.


We found this mountain Viscacha nestling in the ruins at the end of the day

Without doubt this has been one of the higlights of our trip so far. The tourist train might be expensive and Aguas Calientes might be a dump, yet nothing really prepares you for a day at this magical city.