A Childhood Dream Fulfilled
For those of you who do not know, I have dreamt of going to Machu Picchu since I was in 3rd grade and learned about it in Spanish class. There was a huge picture of the ruins on the inside cover of my Spanish book and as soon as I saw it I became obsessed. Well 13 years later, my dream is finally coming true!!
Early Bird Catches the Worm (4:00am - 5:30am)
To say that getting on the 5:30am bus to Machu Picchu is competitive is an understatement. Lauren, Aaron, and I woke up at 4am and were at the bus station by 4:20am to save our place in line. Aaron stood in the bus line (which was already 40 people deep) while Lauren and I went to the ticket office to buy our bus tickets. The office opened at 4:40am and we successfully bought tickets for all 8 of us.
The rest of the group stayed at the hostel in order to pick up breakfast at 4:30am. They met us in line just before 5am which was perfect bc at 5am the security people got strict with cutting in line. Needless to say the people behind us were not impressed that 1 person turned into 8 people... Oh well.
Bus #3 (5:30am - 5:55am)
Busses began shuttling at 5:30am and there were about 6-7 in line ready to take us up the mountain. Our 4:20am position in line earned us the very last seats on the 3rd bus!! Can't even imagine when the people who showed up at 5am got no a bus. The ride up the mountain is 8km of switchbacks, which takes 25 minutes. As we drove up, we passed by people who decided to hike their way up the mountain in the dark... Definitely prefer our way better. We got to the top right at 5:55am and waited for the gates to open at 6am.
6:00am - THE GATES FINALLY OPENED AND I WAS IN!!!!! I MADE IT TO MACHU PICCHU!!
Inca Trail
Intipunku / Sun Gate (6:00am - 8:00am)
We planned on hiking up Montana Machu Picchu first so we could see sunrise over the ruins but the trail didn't open until 7am. Instead we headed East and began backtracking our way up the Inca Trail.
The Sun Gate is about 1.5km away from the ruins and it's the first time the Inca Trail hikers get a glimpse of Machu Picchu. We made it to the Sun Gate by 7am and sat with all the hikers enjoying the view.
Pedometer: 3 km
Montana Machu Picchu
Some quick clarification first: There are two mountains near the Machu Picchu ruins. Wayna Picchu (young peak) is the small, steep mountain you see in the back of all iconic MP pictures. Machu Picchu (old peak) is the huge mountain opposite of Wayna Picchu. The ruins are named in honor of this large mountain and sit upon its foothills. So when I say we hiked Machu Picchu Mountain, I'm saying we hiked a giant ass mountain behind the ruins which overlooks the entire valley.
The guidebook I bought told us all of the amazing things about the hike like the breathtaking view, smaller crowds, and great scenery. What it failed to mention was that the hike consisted of 4km of continuous Inca stairs. Yes that is over 2.5 miles of stairs straight up a mountain...
The Rise (8:00 am - 10:00am)
It took us 2 hours to make it to the top but we finally did. There were several factors working together which got us to the top. First, we were with the Park Ranger who kept telling us to keep walking if we sat and rested too long. Second, we knew the view from the top was without comparison. And lastly, Morgan had all of our PB&J sandwiches with her at the top of the mountain.
We definitely took our time going up the mountain and used photography as an excuse to stop way too often. I think I took the same picture of MP ruins over 60x on our way up. It was quiet the workout but well worth the effort.
Pedometer thus far: 7km
The Rest (10:00am - 11:00am)
Finally we reached the top of the unending stairs and I felt like I was on top of the world!
We could see for miles thanks to the gorgeous weather we had. It was supposed to be overcast with scattered showers but clearly that was not the case. We sat and ate our PB&Js enjoying the magnificent view. It was tough to leave this little piece of heaven but we knew we needed to decend and actually see the ruins up close.
Also yesterday and today is Peru's Independence Day and so I've been sporting my Peru pin that I got in the Sunday market. To honor their big day, I thought I'd get artsy and incorporate old and new Peru in one.
The Return (11:00am - 12:15pm)
Going down should be easier right? Nope just a different kind of difficult. We slowly made our way down the giant Inca steps hoping that our knees didn't give out before we reached the bottom. Aaron just had ACL surgery in January so he was really hurting. There were several really scary parts where the steep steps went down the face a cliff with nothing to stop us from falling.
Pedometer thus far: 11 km
The Recovery (12:15pm - 1:00pm)
With shaky legs and killer calves we made it to the check point at the bottom. When we entered the trail we had to sign in and show our Montana MP ticket and then as we left we had to sign out. There are only 250 trail passes sold for each day and when we left 233 people had signed in. During high peak season (June - August) there is on average 2500 people who visit MP ruins each day so it's incredible to think our MP experience is only shared by about 10% of people who visit the ruins.
All of the hiking we did this morning meant we were running low on water. I brought about 1L in but clearly needed another one to finish the day. Right outside the park entrance there is a small concession stand that sells ridiculously overpriced water. We went out, rehydrated, and mentally prepared for the rest of the day. I could've easily taken a nap after the intense morning of hiking but it was time to find a guide and learn about the ruins.
Machu Picchu Ruins
Tour (1:00pm - 3:00pm)
Maria:
There are good and bad tour guides and clearly we wanted a good one. I went up to one tour guide lady and asked her to point out an English guide. Turns out she spoke English and could take our group of 5 through the ruins for 150 soles. Good thing Liz told us to not pay more than 20 soles a person so I bartered with her and got the 2-hour tour for 100 soles. Our guide's name was María and she had been working the MP tourism circuit for 22 years. The first 13 years she spent as an Inca Trail guide and now she just gives tours through the ruins. She did a fantastic job and taught us so much!
Background:
We started the tour in the lower terraces. She gave us a brief history lesson starting with the Inca empire and ending with Hiram Bingham re-discovering the ruins in 1911. The precise function of MP is unknown bc the Spaniards never found it. Also interestingly enough, the actual name of the Inca ruins is unknown bc it was never recorded. It's called Machu Picchu bc that is what the Quecha people named the mountain it resides on.
So back to history, when the Spanish conquistadors began putting pressure on the Inca capital of Cusco in the 1400s, the Inca's living in MP went to Cusco to fight. As they left, they cut all trails leading into MP (8 have been found so far) in order to protect the idols and religious artifacts located here. The only trail left intact was the Inca Trail which leads straight to Cusco. The elders of the community continued living in MP until the Spaniards got too close and then they too fled; they went West into the jungle.
Legend of this city was kept alive with the indigenous communities nearby but no one actually found it until Hiram Bingham uncovered the ruins. He was looking for a different city when he was led to MP. The ruins he found had been overtaken by the jungle. It took many trips back to the archeological site before the general outline of MP could be seen.
Advanced Knowledge:
One of the most notable things about all Inca ruins is the advanced building techniques. The aqueduct system put in place in the 1400s still works today. It keeps the ruins from settling or slipping down the mountain and it irrigates the crops as needed. They built houses with 60 degree slanted roofs and all buildings have angled walls to allow for maximum rain runoff. The technique for attaching the thatched roofs requires stone knobs on the outside to tie rope around to secure. The Inca empire was relatively short lived compared to other groups but they were so advanced in building, astronomy, and farming bc they collected information from other tribes and learned from them.
Templo del Sol:
We continued through the ruins and saw the Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun), which is the only round building. It has two windows, one faces directly east and the other faces directly south. On the day of the summer and winter solestis, the sun will shine perfectly in the window and cast a shadow on the altar inside. It's amazing how accurate the window placement. Below the Temple of the Sun is the Temple of Mother Earth. Many animal bones have been found in this cave as well as inscriptions and paintings.
Casa del Inka:
Next we walked past the Casa del Inka (Inca House), which is where the Inca king would stay when he visited MP. He only came once a year but when he did, he was carried by servants all the way up to the house and then paraded around on his throne. It was really interesting to watch the restoration in progress. Maria told us that when they restore a building they will mark the stones with a white line and build all walls perpendicular (not angled). This is how you can tell the difference between original stonework and restored newer stonework. Amazingly 75% is original stonework, 20% is restored and 5% is under renovation currently.
Sector de los Templos:
We walked up more stairs (yay) to get to the Sector de los Templos (Temples Zone). This is where the Templo de las Tres Ventanas (Temple of the Three Windows) is as well as other important worshipping areas. The three windows all face directly east in order to honor the sun. The other worshipping area have notches for idols that face directly south in order to honor Montana MP.
So how did the archeologists know the difference between an important building and a regular building? It's based on stone placement. For regular buildings, stones are stacked and held together with mud and gravel. But for important buildings, the stones fit perfectly together. It's amazing how well they line up and that they are still perfectly aligned 500 years later.
Inca's relied heavily on astronomy and therefore MP had an area for astronimal observation called Intiwatana. In the very center is a large rock that helped keep track of the calendar based on shadows. This rock is very significant because not many exist from the Inca period. The Spaniards wanted to eradicate the worshipping of the sun and stars and therefore destroyed all astrological tools. Since the Spaniards never found MP, this stone remains untouched and a great insight into the Inca culture.
Llamas!!
Yes of course there were llamas roaming freely in the ruins. I mean what trip to Peru would be complete without them! We spent a good couple of minutes fraternizing with these lovely creatures.
Grupo de las Tres Portadas:
The Grupo de las Tres Portadas (Group of the Three Doorways) is amazingly still intact and is where the actual manual labor took place. The doors, windows, hallways, and stonework makes for very interesting pictures.
Also carved into the ground of one of the rooms are two water mirrors. They are used to observe the sky as well as to determine the summer and winter solstice based on the two windows facing due east and south.
Templo de el Condor
Our final stop on the tour was the Temple of the Condor. It is an impressive example of the Inca's stonemasonry since they took a naturally occurring rock formation and carved it into wings for a condor bird. Maria told us that one reason they chose this site to build Machu Picchu was because of the mountain placement (due N,S,E,W) as well as stone formations like this one which could easily be carved. The stone for the condor's head was brought in from another region and placed in front of the wings.
Pedometer thus far: 14km
Meandering (3:00pm - 3:30pm)
After the tour, Aaron and Erin weren't feeling good and so they headed back to the hostel via bus while Lauren, Casey, and I stayed back to explore the ruins a little more. I wanted to go around and take some artsy pictures but within a couple minutes of meandering it started to rain! It had been such a long day already (we'd been up for 11 hours already) and we knew we had another 1.5 hour hike ahead of us to get down the mountain. We said our goodbyes to this fantastic piece of history! This trip has been a long time coming and it definitely lived up to everything I imagined.
Final Decent (3:30pm - 5:30pm)
The bus ticket we purchased this morning was a 1-way ticket since we planned on hiking our way down to Agua Calientes (town below MP). The hike included another 2 km of steep downhill Inca stairs before it flattened out at the river. It was lightly sprinkling but nothing unmanageable. These last 4 km took my legs from tired to dead.
It was fun being able to seen the town of Agua Calientes during the daylight. It's a cute little town built around the needs of MP bound tourists.
Pedometer total: 18km - that's over 8 miles!!
The Day that Never Ends
Pizza (6:00pm - 8:00pm)
I've been awake for 14 hours, hiked 8 miles, and have eaten bread with jam for breakfast and a PB&J for lunch. Yes I'm starving! We went to a nearby pizza place (they're everywhere!) and ordered 4 family size pizzas for 8 people. The servers didn't even have time to bring us plates since we started eating right off the pizza stone (also they were being slow). I have a feeling the pizza wasn't very good but it was the most delicious thing at the time!
Sit Around and Wait (8:00pm - 10:00pm)
SuperTramp hostel is really awesome and they let us hang around in they lobby area until our train left. There was a pile of beanbags on the floor that several people passed out on and then also another little table to sit at. I took a nice long hot shower which was glorious. I literally cannot wait to take a shower back in the States!!
Peru Rail (10:00pm - 11:30pm)
Well I think this went well but I'm not sure since I was asleep the entire time. We loaded up on the Hogwarts Express type train and headed to Ollantaytambo. We wanted to take the train all the way to Cusco but it was cheaper to buy a round trip ticket to Ollantaytambo. Somehow we gained enough consciousness to disembark the train and find our driver.
The same driver who drove us to Ollanta picked us up and drove us to Cusco. Again, I think this ride went well but I was passed out yet again. Next thing I know we are parked outside the Pirwa hostel and I stumbled my way into my bed fully dressed from the day.
SLEEP (1:31am)
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What a fantastic day!! It was incredibly long and tiring but worth it. Our trip has officially peaked and now I'm ready to come home. Bring me back to my warm bed, hot showers, safe food, and wonderful family and friends!! See y'all in just a few days!!
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