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Part IV - Machu Pichu
Entry 26 of 73 | show all | print this entry |
The most obvious hightlight to any Peruvian trip is Machu Pichu. There are books and movies and museums all over the world dedicated to this World Heritage site.
Now one can approach Machu Pichu by either trekking in or by taking a train to Agua Calientes, the modern city just below the ruins. With not much time or interesting in the trek, Mark and I took the train. It's quick, easy and ridiculously expensive. (There's no way to bus in they're doing well to capitalize on the train.)
Anyway, educating ourselves on all the various tourist schedules we decided that getting to Machu Pichu before the crowds was our primary concern. To do so Mark and I got up at the bright hour of 4am to prepare for the night climb up to the entrance.
 
It was a grueling 400m climb straight up stone stairs, but with an extreme amount of sweat and gumption we managed to do it in about 45 min - about half the time we were told it would take. This effort was rewarded though as Mark and I entered Machu Pichu at it's 6am opening time as the 4th and 5th person! Not bad considering hundreds and hundreds of tourists would be following behind us before the day was done.
During the next few hours people flocked all around us trying to find that perfect place to watch the sunrise. As planned, we had already secured an excellent spot and all our attention was on the floating clouds and the magical city below. It was spectacular. I can still envision that first glimpse of the city walls unfolding below as the clouds cleared and the sun came up.
 
 
 
As the day broke in full we decided it was time to scamper through the city and head for Waynapichu, the mountain backdrop to Machu Pichu. This was an excellent idea for after another invigorating 300 meter climb of stairs, we found ourselves literally on top of the mountain ahead of the crowds and with no distractions. The views were simply stunning.
 
After 30 minutes or so, the tourists groups begin to find there way to our summit and we decided it was time to go. The decent was rapid and we were soon left to explore the city that we had raced through earlier. The architecture was amazing, as always, but the special thing about Machu Pichu is it's completeness as a city. In addition to the normal terraces and stone walls, you now could see an organized network of roads, house and temples; it's quite a maze to walk around in.
 
  
 
Within another hour or so, we decided it was time to leave. Had not the hordes of tourists scared us away, I think we could easily have spent more time in this ancient city just laying around and absorbing in it. Thankfully we planned as we did and were always one step ahead.
In all, I will leave Peru with great respect for the Incas and all their accomplishments. They were remarkable people. And as Mark and I agreed, Machu Pichu really was an amazing sight to see and an prefect conclusion to our travels together. It will be remembered forever.
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| 26. | Part IV - Machu Pichu - Cuzco, Peru Jun 05, 2005 |
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