Machu Picchu

In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds more than two miles overhead, gigantic precipices of many-colored granite rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids; it has also, in striking contrst, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation, and the mysterious witchery of the jungle.
--Hiram Bingham, the "discoverer" of the "Lost City of the Incas"

I cannot even imagine what Bingham must have thought when Pablito, the small child from the village on the other side of the Wayna Picchu, led him to the ruins of Machu Picchu in 1911. The jungle had by this time overtaken what Bingham thought was the lost city of the Incas, with thick vegetation and trees having sprouted up between the heavy granite rock walls. The ruins had been abandoned centuries ago, and now two families from the neaby village utilized the stones from the site to build fires and and corals for their animals.

Today, the Peruvian government has taken great pains to restore the site to what it must have looked like during the Incas time. It is not, as Bingham thought, the lost city. That city, called "El Dorado" is deep within the jungle (and our guide claimed that while many have tried to reach it, it has never been found--some believe it is due to a curse the Incas placed on the lost city when the Spaniards conquered the Incas). It is thought now that Machu Picchu was a university of sorts--the only remaining sun dial, which used to read the sun with stunning precision (the Spaniards destroyed all the other sun dials of the Incan empire in their brutal campaign to convert all the "heathens" to Catholocism), the diversity of seeds found in the agricultural terraces (leading to the hypothesis that perhaps they were experimenting with various crops), and the astronomical observation rooms have led many to believe that this was a city of nobles and intellectuals--roughly 500 people at most.

Machu Picchu is spectacular today for a number of reasons--it is probably the best preserved site of this size--the Incas destroyed the trail that connected Machu Picchu to Cuzco to ensure the Spaniards would never find it, and as a result it was not "found" until Bingham began asking around. And the location of the ruins itself--it is perched on top of a steep mountain, with peaks rising all around it and lush green vegetation. And at that elevation, the clouds themselves seem within distance to touch.

My first view of the majestic ruins was not the classic Inca Trail, which winds 45 kilometers through the Andes to arrive at the Sun Gate. The Inca Trail today is overrun with 500 tourists per day, a virtual circus of gringos and porters, camping equipment and guides. I instead took an alternative route from the Moon Temple through the Andes to Ollantaytambo with a group of 8 others.

We started at an elevation of 9,000 feet and went up to 15,000 feet for a night of bone-chilling camping. The landscape started off as farmland carved into the steep slopes. As we climbed higher and higher, the homes and fields disappeared and the vegetation changed from eucalyptus to short shrubs, cactus, and bromeliads. Small blue and yellow flowers sprinkled the slopes, with beautiful Andean butterflies fluttering through the icy breezes that would occassionally sweep through, providing welcome relief from the strength of the sun at that altitude.

Each climb up to the overpass of a mountain yielded another spectacular view. We also passed by a few lesser known Inca sites--my favorite was a small temple and overlook point perched atop a peak towards the end of our hike--an austere stone gate that as you walk through, you seek the snow-capped Victoria with misty clouds enveloping the top.

At night, when the sun went down the chill would set in and we would sit in the communal tent with a cup of hot mate de coca bundled up with every piece of clothing we had brought. The moon was three quarters full, casting a glow throughout the varied contours of the land. On our last night, the town in the valley below was visible with a series of gold lights, and above, the dark clouds behind the mountains were illuminated briefly by fantastic flahes of lightning.

The last day of our trip, we arrived to Machu Picchu early in the morning, while our guide took us around and explained the best guess-work of archeaologists today. Because the Incas did not have a written language, information is pieced together by talking to local community and comparing one site to another.

I made my way back to town last night, after what was the most exhilirating trek of my life to date. I suppose it was the perfect way to end the summer and begin preparations for a different kind of adventure--the second year of medical school.

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