Advertisement
Obligatory photo of Machu Picchu
Huayna Picchu mountain in the backgroundAfter a false start including spending a night in Lima and our plane diverting to Arequipa for an hour, we finally arrived in Cuzco on the 9th. Had to acclimatise to the high altitude (about 3400m) by taking it easy doing some housekeeping stuff like banking and getting our train tickets to Machu Picchu for the next day. We´ve become hooked on coca tea which is supposed to help.
Arose early on the 10th to catch the 6.15am train to Machu Picchu. Trip took about 4.5 hours as there are a series of switchbacks while the train ascends/descends onto different tracks. After dropping our stuff off at the accomm in Aguas Calientes, we then went by bus to the site. It was an awe-inspiring on a gorgeous sunny day, with Huayna Picchu mountain in the background. Spent the rest of the day walking through the whole site, including the Inca drawbridge which spans a vertical cliff-face. You can imagine how people lived, the workers tending the terraced fields, the ceremonies that were conducted; and also appreciate the amazing water fountain and canal system that was devised, and the sheer feat of building a community on such a steep gradient.
We also saw where the Inca Trail descends from Intipunku (Gate of the Sun). For the last month or so, the last bit of the Trail has been blocked by a landslide, which means that on the final day rather than getting to Machu Picchu for the sunrise, trekkers now have to walk on the train tracks to Aguas Calientes the day before, stay the night in Aguas, and get up to the site with the rest of the ordinary folk. What a bummer. And there´s no scheduled date for when it will be unblocked. For this reason I am not planning to do the Inca Trail, but will spend some time in the Sacred Valley instead.
Next day caught the 6am bus to see the sunrise. Fat chance, as the site was fogged in. It was very peaceful and eerie walking through the fog; so different from yesterday. Rather than wait with the other plebs, we decided instead to climb Huayna Picchu. This was a tiring ascent and a mega-scary descent. The track consists of steep, narrow and slippery rocks, and any mis-step could potentially be fatal. I thought Tikal was challenging, but this really tested my resolve
particularly as I´m scared of heights. Reached the summit after an hour, and waited for the fog to clear. It was well worth the pounding heart and knocking knees; what a fantastic vista looking back onto the site and to Machu Picchu mountain. Then caught the train back to Cuzco that afternoon.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.051s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0307s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
